Meant to Be
by jimmyschick
Summary: Jimmy and Kim are together again, but can they survive life and each other to stay that way?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Meant to Be- chapter 1  
  
Disclaimer: In case you've forgotten, I don't own Third Watch.  
  
Author's Note: Well, here it is people! The first installment to the sequel to Back to You. I want to thank everyone for being so encouraging with the last story and urging me to continue with this one. You guys are scrumptious! Hope you enjoy!  
  
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Kim had been standing in front of the bedroom mirror for what seemed like an eternity. Her room looked like the aftermath of a bomb, clothes strewn everywhere. It was almost 6:00 so she had to make up her mind fast because Joey would be up soon and her day needed to start. She scanned herself over one more time and gave an exasperated sigh.   
  
"This is ridiculous! I see the man every day. Why should today be any different?!" Kim violently ripped off the top that she had on, and attempted to find something in the disaster area she called her room. "It's not a big deal. I just need to throw something on and get out of here," she told herself, continuing to mumble under her breath.  
  
"Mom? What happened to your room?" Joey asked with a perplexed look on his face. Even his room wasn't this messy.  
  
Kim smiled and turned around, "Nothing, honey. Mommy's just having an aneurysm." Kim went back to digging through the mountain of clothes that were on her bed. "Why don't you help me out this morning and fix yourself some cereal. Mommy's running a little late this morning."  
  
"Did I hear daddy last night?," Joey asked.  
  
Kim froze in her tracks. She knew she had to tell him something about last night, but she had no idea what. She didn't think it was a good idea to tell him that Jimmy and her were going to give it another try yet. "Um, yeah, sweetie. He just stopped by to make sure that we were all settled." ' And let me know of his undying love,' Kim thought to herself and sighed with relief as Joey left to make his breakfast.  
  
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Kim clutched her coffee in a death grip as she neared the fire house. Her stomach was in a knot, she hadn't gotten enough sleep, she had way too much caffeine in her system, and the outfit that she had on was picked out of sheer necessity of putting something on least she go to work naked. She had finally just let Joey pick something out while she jumped in the shower. His first pick had been jeans and an old nightie top that she had forgot she owned. It had been a while since she had needed to impress anyone in the night wear department. She had switched the nightie for the first shirt she found in the pile, which turned out to be a shirt she had received as a joke from Alex. It read: Find em' hot, leave em' wet with a hot looking fireman on the front. By the time she had realized her choice, she had already dropped Joey off at school. That explained the weird look she had gotten from the nuns. God was merciful though, she had remembered to bring a sweatshirt.  
  
Kim tentatively entered the firehouse, looking like someone was going to jump out and kill her. She didn't see Jimmy anywhere and let out a sigh of relief. She just needed to gain her bearings and prepare herself.  
  
"Hey!" Alex greeted from behind, causing Kim to yelp and spill her coffee all over the front of her sweatshirt. "Whoa. You seem a little tense this morning," she smiled and picked up the empty coffee cup.  
  
"God, you scared me," Kim tried to control her breathing.  
  
Alex looked at her, "Kim, what's going on? You look a little psycho."  
  
Kim brushed the hair away from her face nervously, "You mean I don't look good?"  
  
"Well, the coffee stain really brings out the brown in your eyes," Alex laughed.  
  
Kim smiled and sighed, "I feel like I'm going nuts this morning." Kim looked down at her feet, "I might have done something really stupid."  
  
"Well that would be out of character," Alex teased.  
  
"No, I'm serious. Something really, really stupid."  
  
"Wouldn't be the first time," she laughed.  
  
Kim made a face and pulled her out to the bus and stood between the doors, "Look, you're my best friend and I need you to be cool for me. Can you do that?" Kim asked.  
  
"Of course. What's up?," Alex asked seriously.  
  
"Jimmy came over last night," Kim crinkled her forehead in worry.  
  
"Oh god! You didn't!" Alex moaned and covered her face.  
  
"Alex! Nothing happened!" Kim pushed her.  
  
"Yeah? Then why are you such a basket case this morning? I should have known it had something to do with Jimmy!"  
  
"He came over to see if I was o.k. and ended up telling me that he was still in love with me. To make a long story short, I told him I would give him another chance," Kim bit her nails nervously, "That was a really stupid thing to do, right?"  
  
"Are you in love with him?" Alex asked as if it were impossible.  
  
"I think I have been for a while," Kim confessed.  
  
Alex looked at her in doubt, "Will you give me that sweatshirt. You look like a 2 year old with that huge stain."  
  
"You think I'm an idiot, don't you? I am an idiot," Kim sighed and pulled her sweatshirt off, handing it to Alex.  
  
"No more than usual," Alex smirked.  
  
Kim laughed and banged her head against the bus door, "I know this is probably a bad idea, but I can't help myself. It's like I have no willpower when I'm around him."  
  
"Yeah, love is like that," Alex smiled.  
  
Kim smiled and peeked at Alex, "I do kinda like feeling like this again. All nervous and excited."  
  
Alex laughed, "He is hot, I'll give him that much."  
  
"And an amazing kisser, among other things," Kim laughed.  
  
"Oh! You know, I really didn't need the visual!" Alex groaned.  
  
"Oh please! Like you've never thought about it!" Kim teased.  
  
"Never though about what" Jimmy asked from behind Kim.  
  
Kim's eyes bulged and her hand covered her mouth. How much of this horrifyingly embarrassing conversation had he heard. She spun around and plastered a smile on her face, "Nothing! We were just... nothing," Kim forced out, her face flush.  
  
Jimmy quirked an eyebrow and looked at her, "Nice shirt," he smiled.  
  
Kim narrowed her eyes at him and grabbed her sweatshirt from Alex covering her front. "Let me go change and I'll be down in a minute."  
  
"I'm driving," Alex called over her shoulder as she went to grab her jacket.  
  
Kim walked around Jimmy and moved towards the stairs. She felt him following behind her. She walked up the stairs with him on her heals. "Can I help you with something," she asked once they reached the landing.  
  
"I get the feeling you're avoiding me this morning," Jimmy smiled and leaned against the wall.  
  
"I'm not avoiding you, I'm in a hurry."  
  
"Uh huh. And why is it that you can't seem to look at me," he smirked, knowing he was getting on her nerves.  
  
Kim looked at him pointedly, "Not much to look at," she smiled sweetly.  
  
"Oh yeah. And you're a real beauty queen this morning," he jabbed back.  
  
It was ironic. For all the time she spent excavating her closet this morning, she did look like shit. And felt like it. "Yeah well, not all of us are blessed with such natural beauty. Some of us have to work at it a little. Besides, someone kept me up till an ungodly hour last night."  
  
Jimmy smiled, "I was wondering when you were gonna bring that up."  
  
Kim looked at him in irritation, "Do you mind? I'm trying to get ready here."  
  
"Nothing I haven't seen before," he smiled.  
  
Kim felt the butterflies take flight in her stomach. 'Damn! Why does he have to be so sexy'. "And you're not likely to see it again at the rate your going." Kim picked up her clothes and headed to the bathroom only to be intercepted. "Jimmy, come on," she whined.   
  
"I didn't mean what I said," he looked at her.  
  
For a second Kim's stomach bottomed out. Had he already changed his mind about things since last night? "Oh?" Kim's voice wobbled.  
  
"You do look beautiful this morning," he smiled.  
  
Kim gave out a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Whatever. Don't you have lives to save or something?"  
  
As if on cue, the fire bell rang. "I guess so," he sighed and headed for the stairs.  
  
"Jimmy?" Kim called after him.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Be careful," she smiled and bit her lip shyly.  
  
Jimmy smiled, remembering how she used to tell him that every time they got a call, "Always am," he winked and jogged down the stairs.  
  
Kim banged her head against the door again. This was going to be a very long day.  
  
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Not a whole lot of Jimmy/Kim action, but stay tuned. More to come soon. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 2  
  
Disclaimer: Must I go through this every time? Okay. I do not own Third Watch. There.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to Fishpinky, Angel Eyes and Dillon for the feedback. Glad you guys are enjoying this so far. I screwed up my finger, so writing this was very painful, but I wanted to update for you fast. If that's not love, I don't know what is!  
  
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It was about a week before Kim could function regularly around Jimmy. The whole week she felt like an awkward teenager again. Every time she would see him throughout the day, her heart would do a little flip-flop. Every time they made eye contact, she would look away and blush. Every time they were alone together, her stomach would be in a perpetual knot. Despite all her conflicting emotions, all these things seemed to provide an endless amount of amusement for Jimmy.   
  
She was getting used to the idea of being back with him again though. Not nearly ready to tell anyone other than Alex, but she was making her way to acceptance. She was nervous about telling Joey because she still wasn't sure this was going to last, and she was absolutely dreading telling her mom. All Kim could envision was screaming that eventually manifested into a fist fight. That would just have to wait.  
  
One thing she was surprised about was the fact that she and Jimmy hadn't slept together yet. It was a lot harder to sneak around Joey now that he was older. He was smarter now, and she knew they would get caught. But there was the issue of horniness to be dealt with. Hey, a woman has needs.  
  
Kim dragged her tired body downstairs after changing into her street clothes and flopped on the couch. She felt like she hadn't slept in years. Things had been a little crazy and everyone was pulling longer shifts.   
  
"Some of the guys are talking about going out for a drink. You game?" Alex asked as she flopped next to Kim, looking as tired as she felt.  
  
"I don't need alcohol to help me pass out tonight. I'm already there," she yawned.  
  
"You know, I can't even remember the last time I went out and did something fun? I feel like I live here now," Alex said with an agreeing yawn.  
  
"You should see my apartment, or as I like to call it, 'the pit stop'. All I have energy to do is throw my clothes off and fall into bed," she chuckled.  
  
"Did I hear something about you taking your clothes off?," smirked Jimmy, "Clearly, I came at the right moment in this conversation."  
  
Kim threw a pillow at him and Alex rolled her eyes, "You really have nothing else going on in that little mind of yours do you?" Alex asked, disgusted. She was happy that Kim and Jimmy seemed to be doing ok, and that Kim finally seemed happy, but she definitely didn't need a visual.  
  
"Aww, your just jealous, Taylor. You know you want me," he winked at her.  
  
Alex scrunched her face at the idea, rolled of the couch and dragged herself to find her coat, "I need to get drunk," she mumbled under her breath.  
  
Jimmy chuckled and flopped next to Kim, resting his head on her shoulder, "Mmm, long day," he drawled out sleepily.  
  
"Get off me," Kim chuckled and pushed his head away.  
  
Jimmy laughed and leaned on the arm of the couch to look at her, "My, my. Aren't we friendly tonight."  
  
Kim smiled and leaned her head back, closing her eyes, "Everybody will start to get suspicious if we start hanging all over each other."  
  
"You mean like this?" Jimmy asked and pulled her body to him so that she was laying between his legs.  
  
Kim laughed and tried to pull away, but Jimmy was too strong, "Jimmy, I'm serious! Knock it off and let me go."  
  
"Just the words every guy wants to hear from his girlfriend," Jimmy chuckled and loosed his grip, but still holding on to her.  
  
Kim's body stiffened a little. That was the first time either one of them had referred to the other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Jimmy felt the tension in her body and waited for her to say something. Kim tried to sit up and pull away, but he tightened his grip on her arms a little. "You have to let me up," she whispered softly, not knowing what else to say.  
  
"Make me," Jimmy teased.  
  
"You really want to be saying that with me sitting between your legs?" Kim asked.  
  
Jimmy laughed and let her go, "Point taken." Kim slouched against the couch, one of Jimmy's legs behind her, his other knee touching hers. "You freaked out on me there," he said softly and smiled.  
  
Kim rolled her head to look at him, "No I didn't," she tried to lie. Jimmy quirked an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "What?" she laughed.  
  
"Do you have a problem with me calling you that, because I kind of thought that was the situation with us, what with the making out and the declarations of love and what not," he smiled when he saw her laugh. "Am I wrong?"  
  
Kim looked at him with a look of pure love, "No. You're not wrong. It was just the first time we've said that out loud. It's weird."  
  
"Weird?" he asked incredulously. Out of all the words to describe how it felt to hear it for the first time, 'weird' was what she went with? Nice.  
  
"Not weird bad, just...weird. And a little funny," she chuckled.  
  
Jimmy moved his legs and sat up, "Great. So it's weird and funny. Kim, you really know how to make a guy feel special," he chuckled and ran his hand through his hair.  
  
For some reason, that action had struck Kim as incredibly sexy, and she was incredibly horny. Kim looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention to them. No one was. She slid next to him and slipped her hand into his. "It was just a reality check. A good reality check," she smiled. "I love the way it sounded coming from your mouth."  
  
The fog of sleepiness that had clouded Jimmy's brain was starting to lift as Kim rubbed his fingers with hers. Now his brain was starting to get clouded with something else. Jimmy rolled his head to look at her and was met with her lust-filled gaze. He moved his leg so that the outside of his leg touched hers while a slow, sexy, sleepy smile emerged on his face. "You're beautiful," he said quietly and returned her gaze.   
  
Kim smiled, her hand slid from his and she ran it up his leg slightly, "I think you should take me home," she whispered huskily.  
  
There was a one second delay while Jimmy contemplated being smart about things and slowing down, but with Kim looking at him the way she was and her hand dangerously close to an important and recently lonely area, he burst into action. He ran upstairs to grab his bag, ran back down and was met with a very relaxed, and hot girlfriend leaning casually against his car. He smiled at the desire in her eyes.  
  
"Yo, Jimmy!" Walsh yelled.  
  
Jimmy stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes, willing the voice away. He noticed Kim straitening up and sighed, the mood broken. "What's up man?"  
  
"We're all going to Haggerty's to grab a beer. You two are comin', right?" he asked, completely oblivious to what was going on.  
  
"Not tonight. I'm beat and was gonna give Kim a lift home," Jimmy yawned for emphasis.  
  
"Aw, come on guys! It's D.K.'s birthday and we're all going out to celebrate. Kim, you gonna blow us off like this no-good?" Walsh laughed.  
  
Kim sauntered up to the men and smiled, "I guess I could hang out for awhile."  
  
Jimmy's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he looked at Kim. What in the hell was she thinking?! "Are you sure? It's been a pretty long day," Jimmy tried to give her a way out.  
  
"Suck it up, you wuss!" Walsh laughed and turned to walk away.  
  
Jimmy laughed and waited for Walsh to disappear, then gave Kim an extremely pissed off look. "What are you doing?! I thought we were gonna..." he trailed off.  
  
"It would look really bad if we both refused to go. Jimmy, these people know us. They would know something is up?" Kim tried not to laugh at Jimmy's desperate look.  
  
"Oh and leaving together from a bar will look so much better!" Jimmy said sarcastically.  
  
"Who said I was leaving with you?" Kim asked with a sweet smile and walked towards the rest of the gang. She looked over her shoulder to see Jimmy giving her the evil eye. She turned around, walking backwards and shrugged her shoulders, laughing.  
  
Jimmy shook his head and tried to hide his answering smile, walking towards her and the rest of the gang. She winked at him, and he smirked, knowing exactly who she would be leaving the bar with.  
  
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Ohhhh. So close, yet no cigar! Patience.;) 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 3  
  
Disclaimer: If you think I own Third Watch, that would be stupid of you.  
  
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The night seemed to drag on into eternity for Jimmy. The few minutes that he and Kim were going to stay turned into a few hours, a few drinks and way too many rounds of pool for his liking. He had one thing on his mind tonight, and it was the one thing that was just not gonna happen. Jimmy leaned heavily on the table in front of him and watched Kim have fun with Alex and the guys. She seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he was in torment. Either that or she didn't care. Could be either one.  
  
Alex pulled Kim towards the bar to grab another drink. "I didn't think you and Jimmy would show tonight," Alex raised her eyebrow in curiosity.  
  
"What would have ever given you that idea?" Kim smirked.  
  
"Oh, you know, just from the fact that you were mentally undressing him at the station before I even left and that he hasn't been able to look at anything else all night," she stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Kim looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, Jimmy was staring at her while brooding over his beer. "He does look a little distracted, doesn't he?" she asked, looking back at Alex.  
  
"I'll bet you anything he's trying to come up with a polite way of asking you to go and screw in the bathroom," Alex said and laughed along with Kim. "So...," she trailed off.  
  
"So what?" Kim pretended not to know what she was talking about.  
  
"You know what! What's the deal here? I would have thought you'd be doin' it in the back of his car by now," Alex laughed.  
  
"That's not even funny because that's probably as romantic as it's gonna get if we do it right now," Kim took a swig of her beer.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Alex.  
  
"Well, it's not like I can take him home and I can't call my mom and ask her to watch him all night. She would know something is up," said Kim.  
  
Alex gave Kim a puzzled look, "Ok, now you've lost me. Why can't you take him home with you?"  
  
"There's no way I'm gonna run the risk of Joey seeing the two of us sleeping together. Alex, we haven't even told him we're dating yet. We can't sneak around like we used to anymore," Kim leaned her head on her hand.  
  
"So tell him already," Alex said.  
  
Kim gave her a dirty look, "Thank you, Miss States-the-obvious! I know we have to tell him, but what if things don't work out? Then he would have to go through the whole thing of us splitting up again. I don't want to put him through that again."  
  
"So you're just gonna hide the fact that you two are in a relationship again until you decide to either break up or get married?" Alex asked incredulously.  
  
Kim had a look of worry on her face, "Um.. I guess so," she answered sheepishly.  
  
"Wow. That's going through a lot of trouble just so you don't get caught having sex" Alex teased. "You better become really fond of the back seat of Jimmy's car really fast." Alex laughed and dodged a punch from Kim, moving back to the pool table.  
  
Kim was about to follow, but saw the look of misery on Jimmy's face. He was trying to act interested in a conversation going on between Davis and Sully, but looked a million miles away. He caught sight of Kim coming over and his eyes lit up.  
  
"Hey Kimbolaya! How's it hangin'?" Davis pulled his attention away from arguing with Sully and greeted her.  
  
"It's hangin' fine, Davis. What are you boys up to?" she smiled and slid the booth next to Sully.  
  
"I'm trying to explain to this ignoramus that rap isn't real music. It's just noise," Sully growled out.  
  
Kim laughed as the men went back the argument and looked at Jimmy. He was leaning back against the booth with his arms crossed in front of him, a universal sign of being on the defense. "How come you aren't out there playing pool anymore?" Kim asked, pointedly ignoring his annoyance.  
  
"Well, you know, after the 200th game, it kinda loses something," he smiled coolly, trying to keep his calm. "Couldn't help noticing you were quite interested in the game tonight."  
  
"I never miss the opportunity to team up with Alex and show the guys how badly they suck at this game," she smiled sweetly.  
  
"I did notice you girls were whoopin' their sorry asses tonight," Davis interjected. "Next time we play for money, remind me to call you two."  
  
Kim laughed and gave him a low five, "You know, if you move fast, it looks like Alex could use a new partner in this next round." Davis looked at Alex, then looked at Sully, weighing his options.  
  
"Sul, you won't mind if I go and win myself some dough off those poor unsuspecting chumps?" Davis stood and drained the rest of his beer.  
  
"As long as Bosco is among the chumps," he smirked.  
  
Jimmy was looking at Kim with a small smile on his face. Kim smiled and turned to Sully, "So, how's life Sul?"  
  
It turned out to be a question she regretted asking. He was in a talkative mood tonight and launched into every subject under the sun. His theory on life, love, death. You name it, he was covering it. Kim felt Jimmy's leg brush against hers and turned to look at him. He was motioning for them to leave with his head. She motioned back to Sully, reminding him that she had accidentally opened pandora's box. Jimmy rolled his eyes, letting his head thump against the booth behind him in defeat. He slid from the booth and stood, "You don't mind if I head back to the game, do ya?" Jimmy smiled at the look of surprise on Kim's face. Sully waved him off and went back to talking to Kim. She watched Jimmy walk to the pool table and give her the same cocky shoulder shrug and wink she had given him earlier. 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 4  
  
Disclaimer: In the last 2 seconds since I uploaded the last chapter, I have not come into possession of Third Watch.  
  
Authors Note: Two chapters in one night! Aren't you proud?!  
  
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Sully had finally run out of topics to cover about an hour later and made his excuses and left. Kim rubbed her face tiredly and looked at her watch. It was already three in the morning and they all had to be at work in a few hours. Kim debated whether it would be smarter just to sleep her than to go all the way home, but put her coat on and walked to the pool table. A game had just ended and Alex, Davis, Jimmy and Faith were all bragging about how they had beat the other team.  
  
"I'm headin' out, guys. Happy birthday, D.K." Kim smiled and gave him a hug.  
  
Jimmy stopped clowning around and watched Kim get ready to leave. If he left now, somebody would say something, but he really, really wanted to leave.  
  
"I'm out too, guys," Alex stated and grabbed her stuff.  
  
"Me too. I'll walk you ladies," Davis offered, much to Alex's delight.  
  
Kim smiled as Alex and Davis made eyes at each other and looked over at Jimmy. He looked a little lost. He wanted to go too, but it would be hell to explain to everyone else. "Jimmy, I think I left my scarf in your car," Kim said, trying to hide her smile.  
  
Jimmy raised his brows, "Oh. Well, I'll walk back to the car with you and get it."  
  
Alex was looking at her like she was the biggest nerd she'd ever seen and laughed. Kim wanted to laugh too. It sounded completely stupid in her ears, but no one else was giving them looks so she tampered down on the urge.  
  
They started to make their way down the street.Alex and Davis were walking a few feet ahead and Jimmy and Kim were walking side by side. "Well, that was interesting," Kim smiled.  
  
"Yeah, not obvious at all," Jimmy smiled back.  
  
Kim's smile vanished, "You don't think they suspect, do you?" she asked in worry.  
  
"Kim, everyone was too drunk to suspect." Jimmy glanced at her, "Would it be so bad if they did know?"  
  
"Yes! It would!" she lowered her voice when Alex turned around and frowned at her in warning. "Jimmy, I'm not even used to the idea of us being together again. I don't want everyone else to know yet." Kim felt bad when she saw the look of uncertainty on Jimmy's face.   
  
"Guys? Why don't I just drive you home tonight? " Jimmy offered and moved away from Kim. They accepted and got in the car, Alex and Kim in the back.  
  
"Now what's wrong?" Alex asked, looking from her to Jimmy.  
  
"Nothing's wrong," Kim lied.  
  
"I don't believe you but I'm gonna let it go for now because I'm too happy to have you dump your shit on me tonight," Alex teased and giggled into her coat.  
  
"What is up with you?" Kim asked, laughing at her. Alex refused to answer, but had a giddy look on her face all the way to her house. Davis stepped out and let Alex out from the back.  
  
"You're gonna have to give me directions to your place, I've never been there, man," Jimmy called out to Davis.  
  
Davis squatted and leaned on the window ledge, looking into the car, "I'm good, man. I'm gettin' off here tonight," he smiled at the double meaning.   
  
Alex kicked him and leaned over to say goodbye. Kim was staring at her with her mouth open. That's explained the giddiness. "Don't forget anything in the back seat!" Alex called over her shoulder, making Kim blush and laugh.  
  
Jimmy pulled back onto the road with Kim still in the back seat. "Are they back together now?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"As of tomorrow morning they might be," Kim smiled, happy that her best friend was getting some. Hey, if not herself, than someone should.  
  
The rest of the drive was ridden in silence. Jimmy pulled up to the curb of Kim's house and shut the car off. "Do you hate me?," Kim asked quietly from the back.  
  
Jimmy looked at her in the rearview mirror, "Why would I hate you?"  
  
"Because I have so many rules about us not telling anyone and I won't let you come up," Kim said nervously.  
  
Jimmy smiled softly and looked down, "Of course I don't hate you, Kimmy. It just doesn't seem like you're very sure about us all the time."  
  
Kim sighed and slumped back into the seat, "I guess I'm not," Kim admitted softly.  
  
Jimmy's shoulders tensed. That had not been the answer he was expecting. He was hoping to hear some reassurance. "Oh."  
  
Kim looked up at him and realized how that must have sounded to him. She scooted to the edge of the seat, "No! Jimmy, that came out really wrong. Really, really wrong!" She rested her head on the seat in front of her and gently turned his face to look at her. "I'm sure that I love you. I just hope that's enough this time around."  
  
Jimmy looked at her seriously, "You know that I love you, right?"  
  
Kim smiled and kissed his lips softly, "Yeah. I know."  
  
"I guess the rest we'll just have to work on, huh?" he smiled and brushed some hair from her face.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," she smiled and nuzzled his palm. She turned and looked at her apartment building. "I should probably go in. My mom always panics until I'm home even if I call her. I guarantee you she'd panic if she saw what we were doing right now," Kim laughed.  
  
"But we're not doing anything. Now I can understand that she might get upset if I did this," Jimmy said and climbed over the back seat and sat next to Kim, pulling her close to him. He leaned over and kissed her neck.  
  
"No way!" Kim laughed and pushed him away.  
  
"What?! You can't come to my place and you won't let me come up to yours. This is the only option, baby!" he laughed and pinched her sides, making her laugh. They wrestled around until Jimmy was on top of a struggling Kim. "Now what are you gonna do?" he laughed.  
  
Kim laughed and tried to get up, "Get off!"  
  
"That's exactly what I'm trying to do!" he laughed.  
  
They both calmed down and Jimmy kissed her soundly. "You know, we could get arrested for this." Kim stated between kisses.  
  
"I haven't done this in months, so I'll risk it," Jimmy kissed his way down her neck.  
  
"Months? Wow. That's gotta be some kind of record for you. Should I be worried you're out of practice? I mean, you do remember where everything goes, right?" Kim laughed and screamed when Jimmy bit her shoulder.  
  
"I can't believe the first time we make love in three years, it's in the back of my car at four in the morning outside of your apartment building where your mom is sleeping," Jimmy grumbled and kissed his way across her chest to the other shoulder.  
  
"Reminds me of our first date," Kim laughed and ran her hands through his hair.  
  
Jimmy had to laugh at that and reached under her shirt to cup her breast. "I think I'm actually relapsing into my college years as we speak," he said and nibbled on her ear.  
  
Kim lifted one leg and braced it against the window and wrapped the other around his body, "I wasn't aware that you ever grew out of them," she snickered.  
  
Jimmy snorted in laughter and raised up on his arms and looked down at her, "You know, this would be a hell of a lot easier if you were wearing a skirt."  
  
"I guess you'll have to work extra hard," she laughed.  
  
"Why don't you ever wear skirts anymore?" Jimmy asked. "You have great legs," he said and licked down her neck.  
  
Kim moaned and tried to lean up on her elbows to get some leverage, "Like the guys at the station don't have enough to tease me about. I don't wanna add prancing around in a skirt to the list."  
  
"I don't think any of the guys would have any objections to you prancing around in a skirt," Jimmy mumbled into her neck.  
  
"And you would be ok with Carlos ogling at my legs?" Kim smiled when she felt him stop.  
  
Jimmy raised his head, "You're right. Scratch that. I'm the only one allowed to ogle at your legs."   
  
Jimmy slowly unbuttoned her tight black shirt with one hand while the other gently squeezed her thigh. He felt her hands run up the back of his shirt, scratching up and down his back, making him crazy. Her shirt slipped open, one side falling away to reveal a perfect, bra covered breast. He heard her moan and watched as her nipples hardened through her bra in anticipation. He kissed down the valley between her breasts, all the way down to her belly button, which considering the tight space they were in, was pretty impressive. Jimmy kissed his way back up her body until he found her mouth.   
  
"For a minute there I thought I really was flashing back to our first date," Kim teased.  
  
Jimmy smiled and indulged in a moment of male satisfaction at the memory. That was a taste he would never forget. He leaned down and kissed Kim hard, moaning when he felt her tongue slide in his mouth. Even though they had been dating for a couple weeks now, they had been working so much they were usually to tired to go on a actual date or even fool around. They had been to dinner a couple of times and made out in the front seat of his car, but for the most part it was quick kisses snuck in before and after work. And this was how they were gonna make love. In his car. At 4 in the morning. When they had to be at work at 6 to pull a double shift.  
  
Jimmy pulled away and looked down at Kim, "Does this feel a little wrong to you?" Jimmy panted, trying to control himself.  
  
"No. This feels very, very right," Kim purred and tried to pull him back down.  
  
"Wait a second," he said and untangled himself from her, sitting up and leaning against the window. Kim's legs were still wrapped around him and the view of her laying there with her shirt open, lips swollen and eyes glazed over was making him second guess his noble inclinations.  
  
Kim propped herself up on her elbows, "What's the matter? Don't tell me you actually did forget how to do this," she laughed.  
  
Jimmy chuckled and reached for her hands and pulled her up to a sitting position, her legs draped over his thighs. "Do you really want the first time we do this to be at 4 in the morning, in the back of my car, where anyone could walk by and watch?" he asked with a small smile on his face.  
  
"Jimmy, this isn't our first time. It's never candlelight and rose petals with us. But that's ok. I like our way too," she blushed and laughed.  
  
Jimmy smiled and leaned forward to kiss her, "I know it's not our first time, but that doesn't mean it can't be special. I don't know about you, but this doesn't feel very special."  
  
Kim looked at Jimmy's wrinkled shirt and mussed up hair, "You look pretty good to me," she smiled, still feeling her hormones raging.  
  
Jimmy chuckled, tangled his hands in her hair and pulled her close for a kiss. Kim was still balancing her weight on her hands, but kissed him back hard. "You look really good to me too."  
  
"I'm sensing a but," Kim sighed and leaned back.  
  
Jimmy smiled, "But I think we should wait. Maybe not for the candlelight and rose petals, but at least till there's a bed," he laughed.  
  
Kim laughed and pulled her legs away so should was sitting facing the front. She leaned her head back against the seat and ran a hand through her tousled hair, "I can't believe you're refusing sex. Things would have been so different if you'd said that on our first date," she laughed and re-buttoned her shirt.  
  
"I wasn't that stupid on our first date," he snickered and thumped his head against the window.  
  
"You know, it could be a while before an opportunity like that presents itself, right?" Kim asked.  
  
Jimmy sighed, "Yeah, I know."  
  
Kim climbed into the front seat and he followed. They sat in silence for a while, trying to gain some composure. Kim checked herself in the mirror, "Oh god," she chuckled, "my mom is gonna know something happened. I look trashed!"  
  
Jimmy laughed and turned her head to kiss her, "Just the way I like you."  
  
"Mmm, I have to go. Don't start again," she laughed.  
  
"I'll just sleep down here and give you a ride to work in a couple hours," he smiled sleepily.  
  
Kim raked her hand through his hair, "Are you sure you can make it home alright?"  
  
Jimmy turned on the engine, "No."  
  
Kim laughed and got out of the car, "Call me if you end up in a ditch or something."  
  
"Say hi to Mommy for me," he smiled sarcastically. He watched as Kim walked to the door, turned around, blew him a kiss and disappeared. His beautiful, sexy ex-wife/girlfriend had been ready and willing to have sex in the back of his car and he had said no. Jimmy slammed his head against the steering wheel and sighed. He was definitely getting soft in his old age.  
  
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Oh! So close! 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 5 Disclaimer: Come now. I think you're all smart enough to know that I don't own Third Watch. Author's Note: Hey all! Sorry for such a long delay in updating. I wrote another small piece called Seeing Me Through that had been rolling around in my head, and after I was done with that I blanked. Anyhoo, enough of my sob story. Enjoy! @@@@@@@  
  
Kim was glad about her and Jimmy's decision to wait at least until there was a bed, for about 24 hours. Ok, more like his decision. She woke up the next morning thinking about how much he had changed and that maybe things would work out after all. By the end of the night, after a hard and long day at work, he was looking really tempting, all sweaty and sleepy. By the end of the week, the back of his car sounded like the far off promised land. With each and every day that passed, she was getting more frustrated and not even an exhausting double shift could help the situation. She finally had to resort to ignoring him, the danger of ripping his clothes off in public and having her way with him, very real.  
  
For the second time that day, Kim was cleaning out the back of the bus. Usually she would wait till the end of the shift, but she had to do something to try and maintain some sanity. "What are my eyes beholding?" asked Alex in shock, "Are you actually cleaning when it's not you're turn?" she smirked.  
  
Kim blew the hair away from her face, wiped her brow and gave her a dirty look, "You offering to help?"  
  
Alex just leaned against the bus door, looking amused, "Not in the least." She gave Kim's sweaty, disheveled form a once over, "You're looking positively dynamite today!" she teased.  
  
Kim slumped to the floor and leaned against the wall of the bus, "You know, you're a great friend," she grumbled sarcastically.  
  
Alex laughed and jumped up to sit in the bus across from her, "So are you gonna tell me was crawled up your ass and died or am I stuck with your lovely attitude for the rest of the week?"  
  
"I'm just trying to work off some tension, that's all," Kim sighed.  
  
"Ahh, let me guess. The late night rendezvous in the back seat of Jimmy's car aren't cutting it for you," she smiled wryly.  
  
"I wouldn't know, we haven't even got that far," Kim groused out bitterly.  
  
"You mean you two still haven't.," she trailed off, eyebrows raised in surprise.  
  
Kim glared at Alex, "No, Miss Gets-some-every-night-from-her-hotty- cop-boyfriend. We almost did that night after the bar, but Jimmy had a sudden attack of romantic dignity and decided that we should at least wait for a bed."  
  
Alex was trying hard not to smile and be sympathetic towards her friend, "Why don't you just tell Joey and get it over with? Then you won't have to sneak and plot and plan." Kim stayed silent and stared at a box of bandages like they were the most interesting thing in the world. "Kim, really. What's the problem?" Alex asked seriously.  
  
"I'm still not sure that things are gonna work out with us and I don't want to put Joey through that if I can help it," she said sadly, still staring at the bandages.  
  
Alex scooted a little closer, "But you told me that he's really seemed to change. What are you afraid of?"  
  
Kim finally looked at Alex, "I've seen it before. The night before Jimmy got shot, he came to me and told me that if I asked, he would break up with Brooke. He told me that he was still in love with me and he wanted to be a family again. I admit, I was resistant, but if he really meant that, he would have waited a little longer before changing his mind back and marrying Brooke. I mean, one day he's ready to prove to me that he still loves me and the next he's back to being engaged to another woman. How am I supposed to know that this isn't just some phase he's going through?"  
  
Alex was quiet for a while. "I don't think you're being fair." Alex quickly went on when she saw the hurt look on Kim's face. "Look, you both made really bad decisions concerning each other in the past. Admittedly, he's made more. But he knows that and is trying to prove to you that it'll be different. I mean, ever since you were attacked, he's taken care of you and has tried to do right by you. Maybe, just maybe, you should give him the benefit of the doubt."  
  
Kim felt the tears sting her eyes, "I know. You're right. He's done everything right and I feel terrible that I have such huge doubts, but I can't help it, Alex. I know him. I was married to him. He loses interest in things quick. I think I'm proof of that."  
  
Alex truly felt bad for her friend. "Kim, maybe you should talk to him. I know that ignoring him and hoping it'll blow over isn't a good idea. He's gonna start thinking you're pushing him away again. Plus, getting laid always helps," she smiled in triumph when Kim laughed.  
  
"Yeah, about that. I don't think I can hold out much longer and I see no bed in the near future," she laughed.  
  
"You know, this bus here has a bed-like substance. That could work to your advantage," Alex laughed.  
  
"You laugh, but I'm not below strapping him to that gurney and playing nurse," Kim laughed at the look on Alex's face as she leapt out of the bus.  
  
"Oh god! I can't take anymore of these horrendous visuals!" she covered in face in mock horror and started to walk away, but turned around, "Hey. You ok?" she asked in concern.  
  
Kim smiled, "Yeah. I'll be fine." 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 6 Disclaimer: Must we go through this every time?! I do not own Third Watch. Author's Note: Two chapters in one night! She's alive!!! @@@@@@@  
  
She knew it wasn't fair. Not in the least. And it wasn't at all mature. Kim knew that she had to talk to Jimmy about what she was feeling, but first she wanted to show Jimmy what she was feeling. She really loved that he seemed to be taking things seriously and wanting to do things the right way with them this time, but a person has needs. She hadn't had sex since before the attack and never thought she would really have the desire to again, but Jimmy had a certain effect on her. That had never changed. Ever since their first date together, she could never seem to control herself around him. It was like she had no willpower at all, but really, can you blame her? Sometime in the middle of the night, the minor control that she did have snapped and it had taken everything inside her not to call him to come over or go over there. She needed him, and she was gonna let him know, even if he didn't want to.  
  
Jimmy knew something was up with Kim. She had been avoiding him ever since that night in his car. He was worried that she thought he didn't want her or she was having second thoughts, but was too afraid to say anything. Hey, if she wasn't gonna say anything, then neither would he and maybe things would blow over. Yeah, that theory had proved so successful in the past. Jimmy sat on his bunk and brooded over what to do when he felt the bed dip behind him. He smiled when he saw Kim's arms snake around his middle and leaned back into her embrace when she leaned over to bury her face in his neck. "You look deep in thought, but I know better," Kim teased.  
  
Jimmy laughed and felt Kim smile against his neck. "I love how you insult me and at the same time make it impossible to be mad."  
  
"I'm sneaky like that. So, you gonna tell me what deep, dark thoughts you're pondering about?"  
  
"I don't know about deep and dark. Maybe semi-deep and slightly dim," he smiled when she laughed. He liked that sound and had missed it for the past week. "Why don't you tell me what you're thinking about," he asked.  
  
Kim's arms tightened slightly and she kissed his neck lightly, "You," she stated simply.  
  
Jimmy was a little puzzled by her behavior. They had barely talked all week and now she was clinging to him, not that he minded, like a monkey. "Oh, yeah?" he asked non-committaly.  
  
Kim got up and went to stand in front of him. She leaned over and gave him one of the most mind-blowing kisses he had ever received. Her hands were in his hair and her tongue was deep inside his mouth, coaxing his to come out and play with her. Speaking of coming out to play, another part of his anatomy was eager to come out and make a play date.  
  
Jimmy moaned when she leaned over, pushing him back to the bed. He felt her straddle his thighs and gripped her hips in effort to keep her where she was. Any higher, and he was in trouble.  
  
Kim snaked her hands up his shirt and plastered her hands against his muscular chest. What she really wanted to do was rip the shirt off him completely, but she refrained.  
  
"Mmm, Kimmy.wait a second," Jimmy panted, pushing her shoulders lightly to get her to stop.  
  
Kim looked down at him and smiled, "Again with the stopping? Are you trying to give me a complex?"  
  
Jimmy chuckled and held the hair away from her face so he could look in her eyes, "You do realize that anyone could walk in here, right?"  
  
"That's what makes this so much fun. Have you lost your sense of adventure or something?" she smiled and kissed his lips.  
  
"I'm losing my mind," he mumbled between kisses.  
  
Kim sat up and moved of his lap, "Guess it's time for work, huh?" Kim smiled at the bewildered look on his face. Jimmy sat up quick and grabbed her hand before she could leave and pulled her back to him. Kim fell into his lap and giggled.  
  
"You wanna explain what the hell is going on here, because I can't seem to keep up with you," he chuckled, mildly frustrated.  
  
Kim looked at him and knew she was causing him mind trauma. She felt bad, but definitely didn't want to get into that conversation. "Nothing is going on. I love you," she smiled.  
  
Jimmy searched her eyes and knew there was something that she wasn't telling him, but now wasn't the time to start pushing. She said she loved him, so that would have to suffice for now. He smiled and kissed her softly on the lips, "I love you too." He watched her get up and go down stairs, wondering what was going on inside that head of hers. 


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 7  
  
Disclaimer: Would I be writing stories here if I owned Third Watch? I think not.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to jimbosJS, Angel Eyes,fishpinky,FaithRocks, and Dillon3 for the pretty words. I adore your feedback and am so happy that you like the story, cuz I'm having a great time writing it. Thanks for the encouragement. You like me, you really like me!!!!  
  
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Kim was winding down the conversation she was having with her mom. She called there to say goodnight to Joey. Both she and Jimmy were pulling a double shift again. She felt bad for not being home with him, but kept telling herself that the overtime was important and she was doing it for Joey.  
  
"Hey, Joey still up?" Jimmy whispered.  
  
Kim nodded and asked her mom to put him on again and handed the phone to Jimmy. She stood there and watched Jimmy talk to his son and it made her want to cry. No matter what he had ever done to her, he loved his son and was a good father.  
  
Jimmy saw Kim walk towards the garage out of the corner of his eye. He finished up his conversation with Joey and followed in the direction that she went in. He saw her sitting in the back of the bus, legs hanging off the edge. He sauntered up to her slowly, detecting a slight smile lifting the corners of her mouth. He answered it with a small smile of his own, "Watcha thinkin'?"  
  
She smiled and shrugged, cocking her head to the side slightly, but still not saying anything. He came to stand in front of her and stopped a few inches away. "So, we haven't really had much time to talk lately. Everything ok?" he asked, mentally kicking himself for sounding like such an ass. A whole week of tension and frustration and all he could ask was how she was?  
  
"Everything's fine," she answered, still giving him that small smile.  
  
Jimmy shifted nervously. He knew something was up, but wasn't sure if it was good or bad. He saw her smile grow ever so slightly, and knew she was enjoying his discomfort. "You know, you could make this a little easier on me and give me a little more to work with here," he chuckled nervously.  
  
"What do you want me to say?," she asked in a low voice.  
  
Jimmy's mouth opened to reply, but he couldn't think of anything to say, her sexy voice distracting him, "I don't know. Say whatever you want. You know, weather, sports, news, world politics," he rambled. He continued to ramble, even when he felt Kim's foot rub the outside of his leg. "Or we could talk about work, or whatever's been going on," he suggested, becoming more interested in what she was up to.  
  
Jimmy just stared at her, unmoving, when he felt her foot move from the outside of his leg to the inside, right around his knee. He continued to just stand there and stare, not making a move. She lowered her eyes to what her foot was doing, breaking the intense eye contact. He could see a slight blush appear on her cheeks and knew that his inactivity was making her more self conscious. Her lips parted slightly and he could tell her breath was coming quicker. Her foot braced against the back of his knee and pulled, moving him forward to stand between her legs. He still kept his hands to himself, not making any move to touch her.  
  
Kim was starting to think that this whole seduction thing wasn't the most well thought out plan. Jimmy didn't seem to be responding or even interested in what she was clearly insinuating. Alex's voice rang in the back of her head, telling her to talk to him. But talking would just lead to fighting and fighting would lead to breaking up and that wasn't what she wanted. She raised her gaze to his and looked in his eyes. There was a lot going on in them, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She unconsciously licked her lips and swallowed hard, dropping her gaze to his mouth. "So, you want to talk about the weather, huh?" she breathed out.  
  
Everything inside of him was telling him to grab her and kiss her till she didn't know where she was, but he could tell something was bothering her and she was trying to distract him. "Mmm, getting colder, don't you think?" he asked, feeling like a retard.  
  
Kim blinked and dropped her foot. He was actually talking about the weather?! "It's extremely cold in here," Kim groused.  
  
Jimmy got the double meaning and smiled, "Not where I'm standing."  
  
Kim looked at him for a second, then leaned forward to kiss him hard. She raised her hands to wrap around his neck and moaned when she felt him reciprocate. She deepened the kiss, but felt that his arms were still hanging by his sides. She pulled back and let out a frustrated breath, "You really are going to give me a complex! What's the matter with you?" she demanded, trying to keep quiet so that no one heard them.  
  
"What's the matter with me? What's the matter with you?! You don't talk to me all week and then today you decide that you wanna jump me? Talk about giving someone a complex!" he bit back.  
  
Kim felt guilty for playing games with him, but didn't show it. She glared at him, pushed him back and hopped off the bus, "I don't have time for this. I could be doing something better. Like sleeping," she started to walk away.  
  
Jimmy grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him, pressing her against the ledge of the bus and kissing her deeply. Kim squeaked in protest, but moaned when she felt his tongue in her mouth. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, one around her waist, the other spanning her back. After a couple minutes of tongue wrestling, Kim pulled back, "What was that?"  
  
"Better than weather talk," he panted out, trying to catch his breath. He smiled when her body relaxed and she leaned in to him, "So now are you gonna tell me why you've been ignoring me all week?"  
  
Kim raised an eyebrow, "Was that what that was? Bribery?" Jimmy smiled, but she could see the concern in his eyes. Kim sighed, "I've just been frustrated and thought it would be a better idea if I stayed away from you."  
  
"Kim, if something is bothering you, you need to tell me. I hate not knowing what you're thinking. I was worried," he kissed her forehead.  
  
"You were what was frustrating me," she said, but immediately wished she could take it back. He looked like she had just punched him in the stomach. "No! That came out wrong. I mean, you were, but it's not your fault," she rambled out, covering her face at the mess she was making.  
  
Jimmy pulled her hands down and held them in his, "You're gonna have to explain that," he smirked.  
  
Kim sighed, "It's just, we still haven't... you know. And I feel... I mean I just thought it would be better not to... you know... tempt the situation," Kim heaved a sigh of frustration at not being able to get the words out. She wasn't gonna tell him everything yet, but she at least wanted to get that out.  
  
Jimmy tried not to smile, but failed miserably. He gently cupped her face, "You've been avoiding me because you're horny?"  
  
Kim gave him a disgusted sigh and pulled away, "Leave it to you to put things so disgustingly."  
  
Jimmy fought hard not to laugh at his pissed-off girlfriend. Women hated to be laughed at when they were angry. "Well... that's what you were trying to say right?"  
  
Kim's arms crossed in front of her defensively, "Not in those words, but... yeah." Kim saw that he was having a hard time keeping himself together. "Yeah, laugh it up, fireboy. I know you feel the same way too."  
  
"I never said I didn't," Jimmy smiled, flirting with her.  
  
"Well then... so... there," Kim said, pulling her arms around herself more tightly.  
  
"So what do you suggest we do about this problem?," he asked in a low voice, putting his leg between hers slightly.  
  
Kim didn't give up her defensive stance, but her features softened slightly, "I seem to remember being rejected the last time I came up with a suggestion," she reminded him of that night in his car and tried not to smile.  
  
"That wasn't because I didn't want you, and you know it," Jimmy pushed a little closer to her, making her drop her arms.  
  
"I seem to remember you insisting on there being a bed present," she stated, still trying keep up her pissed-off act.  
  
"Yeah well, there doesn't seem to be one in our near future so I'm thinking the plan needs to be revised," he kissed the side of her neck.  
  
Kim bit back a moan that threatened to spill out and forced her arms to stay at her side, despite the almost over-powering desire to wrap them around him. There was a battle going on inside her head. She knew that she should talk to Jimmy about how she was feeling instead of trying to seduce him, but she was too sacred to say what she was really thinking. That's the way it had always been with the two of them after the divorce. Neither one of them wanted to talk about what they were actually feeling. They just ignored all that and went right to sleeping together. Kim desperately wanted things to be different this time, but it was a hard pattern to break. And she was extremely distracted at the moment.  
  
Jimmy kissed up her neck and along her jaw till he met her mouth. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, one spanning her back, the other, tangled in her ling hair. Kim let out the long repressed moan when she felt Jimmy push her back against the bus, his leg pressing up between her thighs. Her own legs tightened around his and her arms wrapped around his neck. Jimmy smiled into the kiss when he felt her finally give up the fight and reciprocate.  
  
Jimmy lost the cocky attitude and moaned when he felt her pull his shirt out of his pants and slide her hands up his back. His hands slid down her body to unbutton her shirt, never once breaking the kiss. He pulled back and grabbed her by the waist, hoisting her up onto the back of the bus. He continued to unbutton her shirt, smiling when he saw the look of pure love and lust in her eyes. He gently let the shirt fall from her shoulders, leaving her in a skimpy tank-top. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss just above her heart. He felt her hands slide into his hair and his tongue licked down to the tops of her breasts. He smiled when he felt her legs tighten around his waist.  
  
Kim gently pulled his face back up and kissed him fully, slipping her tongue deep in his mouth. He moaned and pulled her closer. She took one of his hands in hers and pulled back slightly, making sure he was paying attention. She smiled at the glaze that was over his eyes. She brought his hand to her lips, kissing each of the fingertips. Keeping their intense eye contact, she slowly slid his middle finger all the way into her mouth. Jimmy panted, cupping the side of her face with his free hand. She released his finger and he attacked her mouth once again. His hands slid down her sides and moved to the front of her pants. Just as he was about to unbutton, he heard one of the guys' voices getting near and felt Kim tense up and pull away. She looked around him with wide eyes and checked to see if anyone was coming. Jimmy heard the voice die away and leaned back in to kiss her, but was met with an incredulous look and pushed away.  
  
"Are you out of your mind?" she whispered violently, looking around for her discarded shirt.  
  
Jimmy's brain was still heavily fogged over with lust, and couldn't appreciate the situation for how stupid it was. All he could think was that he needed her. He looked over his shoulder and looked back at her, "Whoever it was isn't coming in here," he tried to reassure her.  
  
"That's not the point," Kim bit out.  
  
Jimmy stopped her from putting her shirt back on, moved between her legs and rested his forehead on her shoulder, lightly kissing her neck, "Well, I'm a little distracted here, so why don't you tell me the point."  
  
Kim instinctively nuzzled her cheek against his and tried not to laugh. This was serious here. "Jimmy," she moaned. She intended to sound more pissed off, but that wasn't how it came out. She gently pushed Jimmy back and chuckled when he gave her a big pout, "Come on," she whined, "We have to stop. I don't want to give a free show to any one of the idiots that walk in here."  
  
"So you're worried about someone coming in here and catching us?" he asked, just to clarify. After the 'duh' look he received from Kim, he nodded in understanding and hopped into the bus, pushing her further in and closing the doors behind him. It was all dark, save the dim light that was coming through the small rear windows. "So now they won't see," he smiled devilishly.  
  
"I think someone will know something's up when they see the bus moving when it's not running," Kim laughed.  
  
"That's where that age old saying comes into play. 'If the bus is a rockin', don't come a knockin'. It's the golden rule," he smiled at her giggles and feeble attempts to keep him at bay.  
  
"What is it with us and vehicular sex? Every first time we have seems to take place on wheels," she snorted.  
  
"In my opinion, having sex in the back of my Camero is slightly hotter than the back of an ambulance, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures," he chuckled.  
  
"Oh god! I can just see all the puke and blood that I've had to clean up over the years! Not to mention, if Alex ever finds out, she'll demand to have the bus burned," she laughed and crawled over to Jimmy, knocking a box of bandages of the shelf, making them both laugh.  
  
Jimmy pulled her to him and settled her in his lap so she was straddling him. He met her lips with his in a fiery kiss that made both of them moan. "You know, this would be slightly more sanitary if we did this on the gurney instead of the floor. You got me thinkin' about all the blood and guts," Jimmy mumbled into the kiss, making Kim laugh.  
  
"Hmm, can I strap you down too?" she laughed.  
  
"If that's what you're into now," he smiled into her hair. Refusing to let her go, he struggled to a crouching position with Kim still in his lap. Momentarily forgetting where he was, he counted to three and stood up, banging his head on the roof and tripping onto the gurney squashing a laughing Kim beneath him. Kim had her face pressed into his shoulder, trying to muffle her uncontrollable laughter.  
  
"With such grace he moves," she teased through her laughter.  
  
"This is turning out to be hazardous to my health. You might need to drive me to the hospital in this thing if I pass out from a concussion," he laughed into her neck.  
  
"Aww, poor baby," Kim cooed. She pulled his head away from her neck and kissed him soundly, lightly licking his lips, "Does that make it feel better."  
  
"I'll let you know when this damn bus stops spinning," he smiled and kissed her back lightly.  
  
"So. Am I worth all the trouble?" she smiled up at him.  
  
"Mmm... definitely," he kissed her deeply.   
  
"So much for the rose petals and candlelight, huh?" she chuckled. Jimmy looked down at her seriously. He gave her one last kiss, stood up, and moved to the exit. Kim felt her stomach drop. She had said the wrong thing. She sat up quickly and held the back of his shirt to prevent him from leaving. "Jimmy, wait! I'm sorry," she rushed out, "Don't go."  
  
Jimmy turned back and kneeled in front of her, kissing the breath out of her. "Don't move. I'll be back in one minute."  
  
Kim watched him jump out of the bus and jog into the house. She briefly wondered what he was up to, but her thoughts quickly went in the direction of wondering what she was doing. Was this really smart? Maybe they should wait. Kim was pulled out of her thoughts, when Jimmy came back into the bus, re-closing the doors. She could vaguely make out something in his hands, but couldn't tell what it was. "Condom?" she snorted in laughter.  
  
Jimmy just smiled. And suddenly she could see his smile because he had struck a match and lit a small votive candle. He carefully set it on the shelf, next to the bandages. "This isn't exactly how I imagined us getting back together, but there will be candlelight. And as for rose petals, all I could find is the dish of potpourri from the downstairs bathroom. Rose garden scent. It'll have to do for now," he smiled.  
  
Kim didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to laugh because it was funny, but the other part was so touched that he was trying so hard to make this special. Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked at him. All the thoughts of doubt that had been creeping into her mind while he had been gone, vanished.  
  
Jimmy couldn't quite read what she was thinking and continued anxiously, "I don't think you're gonna want to lay on them though. They're kinda hard," he chuckled nervously. He looked at her seriously, "I know this isn't as special as either of us wanted and like you deserve, but you have to know how much you mean to me," he whispered.  
  
Kim's tears were falling freely now. She leaned forward to where he was kneeling in front of her and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled back to look him in the eyes, "This is the corniest most sweetest thing you have ever done," she chuckled through her tears.  
  
Jimmy wrapped his arms around her waist, "Well I am both corny and sweet, so that seems about right," he smiled at the sound of her laughter, "I love you, Kimmy. You mean the world to me," he whispered.  
  
"I love you too, Jimmy" she whispered back. She kissed him deeply, pulling his shirt over his head. Jimmy quickly undid the button on her pants, pulling them off her long legs along with her boots. He quickly kicked off his own boots and let her slide his pants off. Never once in their tasks did they break their kiss. She slowly laid back and pulled him with her to rest in the cradle of her hips. His kisses moved from down her neck, to her chest, kissing the tops of her breasts. Jimmy smiled when he heard her moan. Kim arched up so he could undo her bra, and moaned when he immediately latched on to her nipples. Kim's hands roamed over his broad back and held him close.  
  
"Should I sprinkle the potpourri on you now, or later," he smiled.  
  
"I can tell you right now that rose scented potpourri will never be the same to me after tonight," she laughed. "Who knew toiletries could be so sexy?" she giggled into his shoulder.  
  
"No laughing. You're ruining the moment," he mock scolded her.  
  
"Jimmy, look at where you are and then try and say that again," she laughed.  
  
"Oh! Like you've never thought of doin' it in the back of a bus before," he teased.  
  
"Who says I haven't?" she teased back, "You know, I have ridden with Carlos before and there is a lot of lost time to fill on the job," she laughed.  
  
"Nothing kills a man's libido faster than the mention of Carlos Nieto," Jimmy groaned.  
  
"Nothing kills a woman's libido faster than the mention of Carlos Nieto," Kim laughed.  
  
"How about you shut up all together about Carlos Nieto and kiss me," he smiled.  
  
"How about you make me," she smirked. Without warning, Jimmy thrust hard into her, completely aware that she was ready for him.  
  
"Ohhh... Carlos!" she moaned loudly, giving a laughing shriek when Jimmy bit her shoulder.  
  
"Behave," he laughingly warned. He propped himself up on his arms and thrust harder into her. Kim moaned and raised her legs to wrap around his waist. "Love you," he panted out.  
  
"Love you, too," she moaned back, opening her eyes to watch him above her. "I missed looking at you from down here," she smiled.  
  
"The view isn't so bad from where I'm at either," he smiled and moved faster, feeling himself starting to lose it already. He looked down at Kim when he heard her laugh. He started to laugh too when he noticed how much the bus was rocking and how badly the gurney was protesting their rapid movement. He felt Kim shudder around him and knew she was close too. He reached between them and touched the spot he knew would throw her over the edge. There were just some things a guy didn't forget. "Come on, baby. Come for me," he whispered.  
  
His words were all it took to catapult her over. "Oh, Jimmy!" she moaned and pulled him to her, her mouth finding his. He felt her tense and heard her little whimpers and that was all it took for him to join her.  
  
Completely devoid of energy, Jimmy slumped over Kim, reveling in the feel of her fingers combing through his hair soothingly. He nuzzled her neck, the only sign of affection he could muster. "That was so good," she cooed in his ear.   
  
"Mmm... always is," he moaned.  
  
"And we didn't even knock over the candle," she laughed. "Would have been hard to explain how the bus just happened to burst into flames."  
  
"For a while there, I thought the brakes might give out and we'd go rolling into the street," Jimmy said, making them both laugh.  
  
"Did you know that I'm in love with you?" Kim whispered.  
  
Jimmy smiled and looked down at her, "I know. I'm in love with you too." He laid his head back down on her chest, "Take that, Nieto," he smiled at the sound of Kim's laughter. 


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 8  
  
Disclaimer: If you're dumb enough to think I own Third Watch, you shouldn't be aloud to leave your house.  
  
Author's Note: I know, I know! It's been way too long since my last update. I keep getting sidetracked on other stories, but I promise I'll try harder. Convinced? Yeah, me either.  
  
@@@@@@@  
  
It was only a matter of time before the guys at the station found out about Kim and Jimmy, but Kim was doing everything in her power to make sure it was later than sooner. It was hard, considering they both were spending so much time at work and the only times they could find to be together were the down times between calls. It was getting harder to keep that idiotic smile off her face.  
  
Despite the fact that they never really had much alone time, things were going great for the two of them. It could also possibly be that Kim still had not shared any of her concerns with Jimmy. He was being incredible and she didn't want to jinx that by mention any of the doubts that she had.  
  
Tonight would actually be the first night that the two of them were off at the same time. Alone time would still be a little tricky though. Joey knew about the two of them dating, but she didn't want him to see them spending the night together yet. And if Kim asked her mom to watch Joey, she would have to explain why.  
  
Jimmy walked up the stairs and reached the landing to find Kim lost in thought. He smiled as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. It was a habit she always did when she was nervous and he had always thought it was cute. "Deep thoughts?"  
  
Kim jumped slightly at the unexpected intrusion, "You scared me," she breathed out.  
  
Jimmy sat across from her on the opposite bed, "You're worried about something," he stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"No I'm not," she chuckled nervously.  
  
Jimmy gave her a knowing look, "Tell me what's on your mind."  
  
"Nothing," she lied, "I was just thinking that I was hungry and we should go and get something to eat." Jimmy quirked an eyebrow at her, sending the clear message that he knew she was lying. "What," Kim laughed at the look.  
  
"Are you nervous about tonight?" he asked softly.  
  
"Why would I be nervous. It won't be our first time," she smiled coyly at him.  
  
Jimmy laughed, "Alright then. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind so I don't have to guess."  
  
"It's nothing, really," Kim tried to assure him. Knowing that he wasn't going to take that for an answer, she sighed, "I was just wondering how you planned on going about tonight."  
  
Jimmy gave her a confused look, "Go about? You lost me."  
  
"Well, you can't stay over with Joey at home and if I ask my mom to watch him, she'll want a reason," she explained.  
  
"Joey knows were back together. We can't hide forever, Kim," he said, moving to sit next to her.  
  
Kim sighed, "I know that, but we have to go slow. We can't just start spending the night together. He has to get used to the idea of us together again; spend time with us together."  
  
"Kim, we have been spending time with him together lately. And remember last week when he asked me if I could stay over," Jimmy reminded her, "I don't think it's been that hard for him to adjust."  
  
"That doesn't mean that he's ready to see us sleeping together," Kim tried to reason.  
  
"Well, no kid should have to see that," Jimmy teased and dodged a punch.  
  
"That's not what I meant and you know it," she tried not to smile.  
  
Jimmy laid back against the headboard and put one leg behind her to keep contact, "I know it's a big step, but it'll be ok."  
  
"I just don't want to get his hopes up or confuse him," Kim nervously played with the hem of her shirt.  
  
"It's new for everybody, but we'll work through it together," he tried to reassure her.  
  
"You want to give that speech to my mom?" Kim laughed half-heartedly.  
  
Jimmy groaned, "Well that's an entirely different story. She's not gonna be happy no matter how much you sugar coat it."  
  
"Which is why I'm not gonna say anything" Kim chuckled.  
  
"Baby, she's the only one that can watch him."  
  
"Maybe Alex can take him for the night," Kim grasped at straws.  
  
"Alex is working a double tonight," he reminded her.  
  
"Well, maybe he can spend the night with a friend."  
  
Jimmy sat up and turned her face to look at him, "We have to tell her sometime."  
  
"Jimmy, it's too soon. We've only been dating for two and a half months and we just barely told Joey."  
  
"Kim, we've been dating for two and a half months and haven't been able to have one night completely to ourselves. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of making love in the back of an ambulance bus," Jimmy reached over and brushed some hair away from her face, "I want to be with you. Tonight."  
  
Kim leaned over and kissed him gently, "I want to be with you too, but I just don't want to deal with my mom yet. She's gonna be so pissed."  
  
Jimmy just looked at her. "I love you, Kim. I'm not going anywhere this time." Jimmy kissed her deeply, hoping to convince her. "I'm gonna drive you to you mom's to pick Joey up. You can come by later on tonight if you want," he suggested hopefully. "If you want to stay there tonight though, it's ok. We'll just do it another night."  
  
"No we won't," Kim sighed sadly.  
  
Jimmy smiled and kissed her forehead, "I promise you we will."  
  
@@@@@@@  
  
Kim sat in the living room at her mom's house. Joey had already fallen asleep and her mom had insisted that she leave him there for the night. She almost laughed at the offer. Here she was thinking she was gonna have to beg to get her to watch him and she flat out offered. Life was weird like that. Now all she had to do was think of an excuse not to stay herself.  
  
"Kimmy, you'll never guess who I ran into yesterday at the grocery store," Katherine smiled and sat down next to her daughter. "Do you remember Michael Welling?"  
  
"Vaguely. Didn't I go to junior prom with him?," Kim answered, uninterestedly, trying to think of an excuse.  
  
"Right! Well, you'll never believe it. He's a doctor now. And Kim, he is so handsome. You could always tell he was going to be a real knockout one day," Katherine gushed.  
  
"Mom, is this your way of telling me you're dating an ex-boyfriend of mine," Kim chuckled.  
  
"Oh, Kim don't be ridiculous! Anyway, we had a lovely conversation, he's so polite-"  
  
"Probably one of the reasons it never worked with us," Kim laughed at her mom's sour look.  
  
"You know, it wouldn't kill you to call him and see how he's doing. He was always such a gentleman."  
  
"Also one of the reasons it never worked out," Kim laughed and dodged a pillow. "Mom, I appreciate the creepy gesture of you trying to find me a date, but I'm not interested."  
  
"Kim, you haven't even given it any thought. Besides, you haven't gone out with anyone in so long. It would hurt to call him for drinks or dinner."  
  
"I do too go out!" Kim defended herself, "I just don't tell you about it," she smirked.  
  
"Probably better that you didn't," Katherine groaned. "Well, I knew you wouldn't do it so I did it for you."  
  
Kim stared blankly at her mom, "Did what for me?"  
  
"Michael is in town visiting his parents and so I asked him to dinner tomorrow night and told him you would be there," she winced, waiting for the tantrum she knew would come.  
  
"You what! Mom, why would you do that? Are you crazy?!" Kim tried to keep her voice down.  
  
"It doesn't have to mean anything, I just thought it would be nice for the two of you to see each other again and if something happened-"  
  
"I cannot believe you're actually saying these words! Mom, I am not going to have dinner with you and Michael tomorrow. I'm not interested in anything 'happening'," Kim bit out.  
  
"Give me one good reason why you won't have dinner. Just dinner, Kim. Nothing else. No strings attached."  
  
"Yeah right, no strings attached. You probably told him I was single and he was the perfect guy for me, right," Kim groused.  
  
"Yes I told him you were unattached because he had heard that you were married. But I didn't say anything about the two of you," Katherine tried to defend herself.  
  
Kim stood and put her coat on, "I really don't believe you sometimes."  
  
"Where are you going? It's midnight!"  
  
"Away from you and your insanity," Kim moved to the door.  
  
"Kim please! I would feel awful if you weren't here when he comes tomorrow. I shouldn't have invited him and I'm sorry, but please, couldn't you just come and have dinner? He's such a nice man. Give me one good reason why he would be so bad? You can't, can you?"  
  
Kim's stomach dropped. She knew she should tell her about Jimmy, but just couldn't bring herself to do it. "No," she whispered out, feeling the shame creep in.  
  
@@@@@@@  
  
Kim quietly opened the door to Jimmy's apartment. She still had the key from when she had been living here. She saw him stretched out on the couch, in front of the t.v. Her stomach lurched in nervousness. He was going to kill her. "Are you still awake?," she whispered.  
  
Jimmy looked at her in surprise and smiled, "I'd just about given up hope on you."  
  
"Oh don't do that," Kim tried to smile, knowing he wouldn't understand the double meaning.  
  
Jimmy grabbed her hand and pulled her down to lay on top of him and kissed her soundly, "I thought I might have to sleep alone tonight," he smiled.  
  
"You might want to after what I have to tell you," she sat up.  
  
Jimmy sat up too and frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"My mom ran in to one of my old boyfriends from high school today," she started slowly.  
  
"Uh oh. Did he say something to get you in trouble," he teased.  
  
Kim tried to laugh, "No. My mom apparently had a long conversation with him and ended up inviting him over for dinner tomorrow might."  
  
Jimmy's face scrunched in disgust, "Oh, please tell me this isn't going where I think it's going."  
  
"She told him I would be there," Kim avoided his eyes.  
  
Jimmy just stared at her blankly, "I don't understand."  
  
Kim looked at him cautiously, "She told him I was single and invited him over to dinner so that we could reconnect."  
  
"You said no, right," Jimmy asked, trying to stay calm.  
  
"I tried to get out of it, but she insisted that I be there tomorrow and I couldn't tell her no," Kim winced.  
  
"So you're going on a date with this guy because you're ashamed to tell you mom about me?," Jimmy asked harshly.  
  
"Jimmy, it's not a date. I told her I wasn't interested-"  
  
"But you didn't tell her about us?" he cut her off in anger.  
  
"Jimmy, please. You know that I'm not interested in anyone else," Kim pleaded.  
  
"But you're too ashamed to tell you mom about us!" he stood up and started pacing.  
  
Kim tried to stop him by putting a hand on his arm, but he shook her off, "Jimmy, I'm not ashamed of you! How can you say that?"  
  
"What am I supposed to think here Kim?! You had the perfect opportunity to tell you mom why you couldn't go out with this loser and instead of telling her about me, you lied and agreed to have dinner with someone that's still interested in you! How do you think that makes me feel?!"  
  
"I know! I should have told her," Kim started to cry. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Jimmy stopped his frantic pacing and sighed in frustration. Making her cry is not what he wanted either. He pulled her in his arms and held her close, "Please, baby, don't cry," he whispered.  
  
"I'm scared, Jimmy," she cried. Kim pulled back to look at him, "I'm scared of telling her, of telling everyone. No one will think it will last."  
  
"Who cares what they think?" Jimmy stepped away to look at her, "Is that what you think?"  
  
Kim wanted to so desperately say no and make him feel better, but in the back of her head, she was worried they were right. "I want us to be together, but there's so much that's uncertain."  
  
"Did you not believe me today when I told you I wasn't going anywhere? Do you think I'm lying to you when I say that?" Jimmy asked in hurt.  
  
"No! I don't think you're lying, but things happen. What makes you so sure that it won't turn out like all the other times?"  
  
Jimmy cupped her face gently, "Because I'm not that stupid anymore. I'm not stupid enough to let you go again. I know I still have to earn your trust, but baby, please believe me when I tell you that I never want to lose you again. I've lived my life with you and I've lived my life without you and I can tell you right now that I need you. I need you next to me. I love you, Kimmy.  
  
Kim managed a small smiled through her tears and flung herself at him. Jimmy held her in his arms and kissed her deeply. His tongue tangle with hers. Her hands sifted through his hair. Jimmy bent slightly and pulled Kim's legs to wrap around his waist. He moved them to the bedroom and leaned over to deposit her on the bed. She refused to let go, making him laugh and fall on top of her. He looked down and brushed the hair away from her face. "I love you Kim, and I promise I'll spend the rest of my life showing you how much  
  
Tears swam in her eyes, "You killing me with these lines," she laughed tearfully.  
  
Jimmy smiled, "That wasn't a line. That was a promise."  
  
Kim pulled him down for a long, lingering kiss, "I need you inside me," she whispered.  
  
Amidst passionate kissing, Jimmy managed to divest them both of their clothing and settled between her thighs, "Imagine. Doing this in a bed. Who would have thought?," he chuckled.  
  
Kim laughed. "This should be a walk in the park compared to some of the places we've done it."  
  
"Ah yes, but they've all been completely enjoyable," he laughed and thrust in to her. Kim moaned and pulled him close, burying her face in his neck.  
  
"I love, you Jimmy. Don't ever think that I don't," she panted and smiled as he captured her mouth for a kiss.  
  
"I love you too, but I don't think I'm gonna last very long," he ground out between clenched teeth.  
  
"Me neither. Oh god... please," Kim begged.  
  
After a few more powerful thrusts, they came together, shouting each others names. Completely spent, Jimmy rolled onto his back and pulled Kim with him. "If you think you're off the hook, you're wrong," he mumbled tiredly.  
  
Kim chuckled and propped herself up to look down at him, "I'm sorry about tonight. I should have said something to her."  
  
Jimmy stroked her hair affectionately, "So if your mom tells you to sleep with him, are you gonna do that too?" he teased.  
  
Kim smacked him on the chest, "Very funny! Keep it up and you'll be flying solo."  
  
"Like you could resist me," she smugly smirked.  
  
Kim sighed, "True. I never have been able to before, what makes me think I could do it now?"  
  
"That's right. My manly powers overwhelm you," he smiled when she giggled.  
  
"Or something," she teased. She rested her chin gently on his chest, "I love you and I want everybody to know that."  
  
Jimmy smiled lightly at her, "I know you love me. And I understand if you're not ready to tell your mom. I'll wait as long as it takes. Just promise me you won't come back from dinner engaged to this guy."  
  
Kim smiled, "I'll try. She gently slid on top of him again, "Besides, there's only one guy I'm interested in.  
  
"Oh yeah? Better looking?" he taunted.  
  
"Much. And the sex is amazing," she smiled and kissed her way across his chest.  
  
"You up for round two?"   
  
"Always." 


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 9  
  
Disclaimer: Pay close attention. I do not own Third Watch.  
  
Kim dragged herself to the doorway of her mom's house. Everything inside of her was telling her to run. Far, far away. There was no way this night was going to go smoothly and no way she would get through it without her mother telling her ex embarrassing new facts about her life since he had last seen her.  
  
Kim groaned and opened the door quietly, hoping to enter without anyone hearing her. No such luck. Her mom was pacing nervously in the living room and jumped on her the minute she saw her. "Kim, where have you been? Michael has been waiting here for 20 minutes and I'm running out of things to say."  
  
"What? No horrible childhood experience of mine you wanted to share with him?" Kim groused sarcastically.  
  
"Oh please tell me you're not going to be in a mood tonight. Michael was nice enough to come here and see you on his vacation."  
  
"Because you asked him to!" Kim pointed out, already starting to feel slightly hysterical. "If you had kept your mouth shut, he could have spent his boring vacation with his boring parents like he wanted to."  
  
"Can we please argue about this later?" Katherine dragged her into the dining room where prince charming awaited. "Michael, look who finally decided to show up."  
  
Kim fought the urge to pummel her mom and forced a smile on her face, "Hi Michael. It's been a while."  
  
"Wow... Kim, you look amazing. More beautiful than I remember," Michael gushed.  
  
Kim chuckled and shrugged the compliment off. She had to hand it to him though, he looked pretty good himself. When they had dated, he was still a little awkward and gangly. His hair was always perfectly parted and always wore preppie clothes. It was like he was heir to Izod or something. He had definitely grown into himself and filled out nicely. His style seemed more laid back and he seemed more comfortable with himself. Kim had to laugh. He was probably the only 'nice' guy she had ever dated. She tended to go for the bad boys. No kidding.  
  
"Well, I'll let you two catch up and go and finish up dinner," Katherine smiled and made her exit.  
  
Kim sat across the table and smiled at him uncomfortably, "I hope she hasn't bored the life out of you yet."  
  
Michael laughed, "No. I always liked your mom. She's a great person."  
  
Kim wanted to say differently, but chose to keep her mouth shut on the subject. "So... what has it been? 14 years?"  
  
"Yeah, it's been awhile. But I have to say, you look the same as you did then," Michael smiled.  
  
"Minus the scary 80's hair," Kim chuckled.  
  
"Look, Kim, I hope you don't mind about me taking up your mom's offer tonight. I just remembered how much fun we used to have together and wanted to see you again," Michael explained.  
  
Kim was slightly confused. They had only dated for a couple of months and to her recollection, the time they had spent together hadn't been especially fun. Maybe it was a situation of absence makes the heart grow fonder. "No, Michael, it's fine. I'll admit I was a little surprised about everything, but it's always nice to catch up with an old friend." Kim made sure to emphasize the word 'friend'.  
  
"Well, if you two are ready, we can go ahead and eat now. Kim, why don't you come and help me serve," Katherine smiled. Once the two were in the kitchen and dishing up the food Katherine couldn't hold back any longer, "So? How's it going?"  
  
Kim rolled her eyes at her mother's enthusiasm, "Mom, I don't know what you expect to happen tonight, but I have a feeling you're going to be disappointed."  
  
Katherine turned to look at Kim, "Why? What's wrong with him?"  
  
Kim sighed, "Nothing is wrong with him! Jeez! I already told you, I'm not interested."  
  
"You haven't even given it a chance."  
  
"Mom, what part of 'not interested' are you not understanding? I'm not looking for a boyfriend."  
  
"Kim, you haven't had a steady relationship with anyone since Jimmy and God knows what a mistake that was," Katherine huffed.  
  
The hair on the back of Kim's neck stood up. She was beyond mad. "A mistake? It's nice to finally know what you really think of Joey!"  
  
"Kim, that's not what I meant. I love Joey and you know that," Katherine tried to remedy.  
  
"Well you know what, if I hadn't of been with Jimmy, there would be no Joey. It wasn't a mistake! Coming here tonight was a mistake," Kim bit out and went back to sit down at the table.  
  
"Everything ok in there," Michael asked with a smile.  
  
"Peachy," Kim forced a smile. The next hour was filled with painful small talk and endless reminiscing. Mostly between Katherine and Michael. Kim wasn't interested in the conversation, but her mother was certainly going to relive the 'good times' for her. Katherine finally excused herself to clean up and Kim and Michael moved into the living room.  
  
"You know, as a doctor I see a lot of pain and suffering and can tell you're going through both tonight," Michael tried to make the uncomfortable mood lighter.  
  
Kim shook herself out of her mood, "Michael, I'm sorry. It's just... my mom and I don't see eye to eye on things very often," she smiled apologetically.  
  
"I kind of get the feeling like she might have talked you into tonight."  
  
Kim looked completely embarrassed, "You have no idea how sorry I am that you got dragged into all of this."  
  
"Please tell me that you're not still married at least," Michael asked in worry.  
  
Kim laughed, "No. I'm not married. My ex and I got divorced a long time ago, but we do have a son."  
  
Michael smiled, "Your mom was telling me about him before you got here. She showed me a picture. He looks like you."  
  
Kim smiled, "Actually he looks more like his dad, but thanks."  
  
"Well, maybe someday I'll get to meet him," he said and took her hand in his.  
  
Kim looked over at his hopeful face and decided enough was enough, "Michael, you're a great guy and-"  
  
"Uh-oh. The 'great guy' speech. That's never a good sign," Michael smiled and sat back.  
  
"I'm sorry. I feel terrible about all of this and I'm sorry you came all this way just to hear me say this, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I'm actually already in one, but I haven't told my mom about it."  
  
"That would explain why she's trying to set you up with old boyfriends from high school," Michael laughed.  
  
"It explains it, but it definitely doesn't excuse it. I'm really sorry about all of this," Kim smiled apologetically.  
  
"Really, it's not a problem. I just got out of a serious relationship and it probably is for the best anyway. I think maybe I should just go."  
  
"No! You don't have to do that," Kim tried to stop him.  
  
Michael put his coat on and smiled, "It's alright, Kim. Really. No hard feelings. It was nice to see you again though and maybe someday, if this guy doesn't work out, I'll run into you mom at the grocery store again and we can try again." They both laughed and Kim walked him to the door.  
  
"Thanks for understanding, Michael. I really am sorry about all of this."  
  
"It was good to see you again, Kim. Tell your mom I said thanks for the dinner," he smiled and walked out into the night.  
  
Kim leaned against the door and sighed in relief. She grabbed her cell phone from her bag and went into the bathroom. Kim dialed Jimmy's number and smiled when she heard his voice.  
  
"Do you think you could come and pick me up?"  
  
"Sure. So are you gonna tell me how it went?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I fell madly in love with him. We eloped and I'm having his baby," Kim smiled at the silence on the other end.  
  
"You're not funny."  
  
Kim laughed, "I'm kidding, Jimmy. I told him I was already seeing someone. He just left."  
  
"I'm sure your mom was thrilled about that," Jimmy chuckled.  
  
"Well, actually she's still in the kitchen cleaning up, so she doesn't exactly know that he's gone," Kim bit her nails nervously.  
  
"And you're gonna sneak out of the house too?" Jimmy laughed. "I'll just honk the horn when I pull up, leave the motor running and you can run out. Sound good to you?"  
  
Kim tried not to laugh, "You know, I've had a really shitty night. I don't need you to give me grief."  
  
"Oh, poor baby. I'll make it all better," he smiled when he heard her giggle.  
  
"Will you please just come and get me?"  
  
"I'm on my way." 


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Meant to Be-chapter 10  
  
Disclaimer: I think you know the drill.   
  
Author's Note: Two chapters in one night. You're lovin' me now, aren't you!   
  
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Kim walked back down the hall to the living room and found her perplexed mother standing in the middle of the room. "Kim, what happened to Michael?"  
  
"He spontaneously combusted," Kim smiled sarcastically.  
  
"What did you do?" Katherine crossed her arms.  
  
"I told him that I wasn't looking for a relationship and apologized for you getting him into this mess," Kim answered calmly.  
  
"You told him to leave?!" Katherine asked in horror.  
  
"No. He could tell that I wasn't interested, we said our goodbyes and he went home."  
  
"Kim, he was a nice guy. I know that you're not interested in nice guys, but you could have made an effort. It would have been a breath of fresh air for you to be with someone that treats you right instead of some no good that cheats on you and breaks your heart!"  
  
As luck would have it, Jimmy made his entrance right at that moment. "I knocked, but no one answered." He could tell it was a really bad time.  
  
Kim could hardly see straight she was so livid. "Don't you ever call him a no good again. You never took the time to get to know him, so don't ever pass judgment. We both made mistakes, both of us, but Jimmy has always been there for me. I didn't see you at my bedside after I got raped!," Kim seethed.  
  
Katherine reeled back from that remark, not knowing what to say. Jimmy stood in front of Kim and blocked her view of her mother. "Kim, we should go before you say something you'll regret. He gently cupped her face with one hand and stroked her cheek, trying to calm her down.  
  
The haze of anger cleared from her eyes and she looked at Jimmy, "Where's Joey?"  
  
"He's waiting in the car."  
  
"Kimmy, please don't leave like this," Katherine begged, still not understanding why Jimmy was here.   
  
"I'll go check on Joey," Jimmy squeezed her hand.  
  
"Kim, I wasn't trying to hurt you tonight. I just hate seeing you alone and thought maybe this could work out. I worry about you."  
  
Kim sighed, "Mom, you don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl. I can get my own dates."  
  
"Then why haven't you?"  
  
"Just because I don't tell you about it doesn't mean that I don't go out," Kim fought to stay calm.  
  
"Aren't you tired of just 'going out'? Don't you want something more?   
  
Kim laughed humorlessly, "Alright mom. You wanna know the truth? The truth is that I am dating someone, I've been dating someone for two and a half months, and I haven't told you about it because I don't want you to ruin it."  
  
"What? How could you not tell me? When have I ever ruined anything?," Katherine demanded.  
  
"You're not going to like it and I know you'll try and talk me out of it."  
  
"Kim, I'm glad you finally met someone. I'm sure I'll like him if you do. I mean, it's not like you're dating Jimmy," Katherine laughed. She quieted at Kim's silence. "Oh god... please tell me it's not what I'm thinking."  
  
Kim could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She really wanted her mother to be alright with this, but it was clear that that wasn't going to happen. Kim's gaze shifted to Jimmy, who had at some point come back in without her noticing. He looked ashamed and it made her sick. "Surprise," she whispered to her mother, trying to conjure up a smile, but failing.  
  
Katherine looked at Jimmy, "How could you do this? Haven't you hurt her enough?" She stalked angrily into the kitchen.  
  
Kim wiped at her eyes, willing the stubborn tears to go away. She saw Jimmy's worried gaze and wanted to say something, but went after her mother. "Mom, I know this is going to take some time to get used to, but he's not the same guy anymore."  
  
Katherine looked at Kim, "Kimmy, that's what you always say and he always ends up hurting you. How many times are you going to let him do this to you? To Joey? How many times do you think you can stand to see him walk away?"  
  
"It's different this time," Kim tried to explain while keeping her tears at bay. "He's not going to hurt me again. Not like that."  
  
"It's what he does, Kim!" Katherine yelled, but quickly calmed herself. "And you always let him."  
  
"You don't know him. You don't know us. I know he screwed up in the past, believe me, it's not something that's easy to forget. But I love him. I always have and I always will. And no matter what has happened between us, he is a good father and I love him for that. Whether you believe it or not, he loves me too and I do believe that. I know you don't want to, but you have to live with the fact that we're together again."  
  
Katherine gently grabbed her shoulders, "He's not good for you, Kim. I know he loves Joey. He'll stay for awhile, but we both know he has a short attention span. When the pressure is on and real life starts creeping in, he'll run. Just like he always does. And your heart will be shattered. It's the cycle that you two go through."  
  
Kim pulled away and clutched her arms around herself, a sign that she was trying to hold herself together. "I don't care if you disapprove. I don't care if you don't like it. You don't have to. But if you want to see your grandson, you will be respectful of him and our relationship. I will not have you saying things about his father in front of him. If you can't do that, then we're going to have a problem." Kim turned around and walked to the kitchen door, her mother's voice stopping her.  
  
"What happens when he leaves again, Kim?  
  
Kim looked at the kitchen door, her back turned to her mother. She turned her head to the side, "You'll be the first person that can say I told you so."  
  
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Jimmy kept a watchful glance on Kim. He had heard the whole conversation; every heart-wrenching bit. Kim stared out the window, not making eye contact with him. His stomach turned in knots, not having a clue as to what she was thinking.  
  
Once at his place, they tucked Joey in bed and went to the living room. "I should get going. It's pretty late," Kim started to walk to the door.  
  
Jimmy grabbed her arm, "Kim wait. Don't leave," he pleaded.  
  
Kim tried to pull away, "Jimmy, I can't do this right now. I need to go home," she started to cry.  
  
Jimmy wouldn't let her go, but pulled her closer to him, "Don't run away from me," he begged her, tears forming in his own eyes.  
  
Kim still tried to pull away half-heartedly, "Don't do this to me. Please. I can't do this right now," she whimpered.  
  
"You don't have to do anything. I just wanna hold you. Please baby, don't leave me," he choked out.  
  
Kim wasn't sure if he was talking about now or ever, but it didn't matter. She wasn't going anywhere. She was tired of running. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried out all her tension. Jimmy held on to her tightly, "I love you so much. You have to believe me when I tell you that. If you don't believe me, I'm not worth anything."  
  
"I love you too," Kim cried.  
  
After a few minutes of clinging to each other as if the world were ending, Jimmy sat them both down on the couch. Kim yawned in exhaustion, "I'm so tired."  
  
"You deserve some sleep," he whispered and kissed her head. She turned her face upward and kissed him fully. Jimmy leaned back and pulled her with him, her body half resting on his.  
  
Kim pulled back from the kiss, "I can't stay here," she reminded him remorsefully.   
  
"I think tonight we can make an exception," Jimmy pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over both of them. "If Joey wakes up and sees us, so be it. It's bound to happen eventually because I'm not going anywhere."  
  
Kim thought about protesting, but decided to stop thinking so much. She smiled and kissed him lightly, "That's good to know."  
  
Jimmy turned off the lamp beside the couch. Kim snuggled closer to him, watching the snow fall outside the window. The room had a soft glow and despite the night's traumatic events, she felt safe and warm. "Why did you let me go tonight?" Kim groaned and playfully accused.  
  
"Hey, I tried to talk some sense into you. It wasn't my fault," he chuckled and pulled her closer.  
  
"Thanks for coming to save me."  
  
"Don't know how good a job I did."  
  
Kim stayed silent for a while. Her small voice pierced the silence, "Don't ever leave me," she whispered.  
  
Jimmy kissed the top of her head, "Not even if you wanted me to."  
  
Kim smiled, "I wouldn't let you anyway." 


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Meant to Be- chapter 11  
  
Disclaimer: I haven't come into possession of Third Watch since the last time I've updated. Would be cool though.  
  
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After the whole incident at Katherine's house, Kim was dealing with a lot of emotions and concerns. She would never tell him, but she was starting to think about some of the things her mother said. She knew she'd needed to talk to Jimmy for a long time now, but she hoped that maybe some of the worries would just disappear into thin air. With Katherine drilling them into her head, it was unlikely to happen. She knew Jimmy had changed a lot, she could tell in the months they had spent together and the way he treated her now, but she wondered if it was enough.  
  
"Are you ever planning on answering that damn thing?" Alex asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.  
  
"Huh?" Kim asked in confusion.  
  
Alex glanced at her for a minute before returning her eyes to the road, "Am I the only one that has noticed you cell phone ringing all day? There's only so many times a person can her the beginning of 'Born In the U.S.A.' before starting to feel homicidal."  
  
Kim laughed and switched off her phone, "Sorry. I've been ignoring it all weekend. I don't even hear it anymore."  
  
"You and Jimmy fighting?"  
  
"No. It's my mom. I finally told her about Jimmy and me," Kim sighed.  
  
"Ooooh, ouch. I'm guessing she didn't take it too well?" Alex winced.  
  
"Not so much. She ran into this old boyfriend of mine and invited him over for dinner and told him that I would be there. I went and-"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Your mother set you up with an old boyfriend, and you went?!" Alex looked at her in shock. "Are you sure you and Jimmy aren't fighting, because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be too cool with that."  
  
"He was actually pretty understanding about the whole thing. He knew I wasn't interested in the guy, so he didn't really have that big of a problem. Other than the fact that I think he wanted to kill me when I first told him about it," Kim laughed.  
  
"I can imagine. So tell me what happened," Alex pushed.  
  
"I went and the guy was obviously getting the wrong idea, so I told him I was with someone, apologized, and he left. Jimmy came over to pick me up and walked into one of our famous fights. Mom asked why I wasn't interested and I had to tell her. She flipped, said really terrible things, and I left. That was my weekend!" Kim smiled brightly.  
  
"You know, there is one disturbing problem in all of this," Alex said.  
  
"Just one?" Kim laughed.  
  
"Well this happened last weekend and today is Wednesday and this is the first time I'm hearing about this. What gives?" Alex asked in mock offense.  
  
"I know. I'm sorry. I should have said something. I know I've been in a mood all week. I guess I'm still trying to process what happened and trying to figure out where to go from here. I mean, if she can't respect the fact that Jimmy and I are back together, I don't want Joey around her.." she trailed off.  
  
"I'm sensing a but," Alex waited.  
  
"I can't say that I haven't thought about what she said. She knows Jimmy's habits, and she knows our past. It's not like I haven't already thought of all these things."  
  
"You still haven't talked to him," Alex assessed.  
  
"Alex, I don't know what to say. He deserves a clean slate. He's been amazing and I know that he still feels guilty about what happened. It feels unfair to bring all that up when he's trying so hard to start over."  
  
"But you're worried about it," Alex pointed out.  
  
"I just wonder how long we're gonna last this time," Kim sighed.  
  
"Kim, I know you don't wanna bring the past relationship into the new one, but you have to talk to him. I know you. You'll just bottle it up and live in your little land of denial, meanwhile your relationship suffers because Jimmy doesn't know what's going on. Kim, he can't make an effort to understand if you don't let him." Alex hopped out of the bus, "All this drama and suspense makes me have to pee!" she said and hurried into the station house.  
  
Kim laughed and watched her run away. She knew Alex was right. Kim didn't want the past to kill their future. She would just have to talk to him.  
  
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Jimmy was doing some last minute cleaning of the rig at the end of the shift, when he saw him coming towards him. It brought a unguarded smile to his face. He knew that the whole thing with her mom was getting to her. He could tell that she was trying hard not to pull away from him and he was doing everything in his power to not make her want to. He just desperately hoped that the things Katherine said, hadn't placed the seed of doubt in her head.  
  
"Hey there," she smiled shyly. It was amazing that he could still make her feel like she was a teenager.   
  
"Hey yourself," he smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips.  
  
Kim's mouth opened to protest and remind him of the fact that someone could see, but she realized, she didn't care. She closed it and gave him a warm smile, "How was your day?"  
  
"You're really gonna let that go?" he teased.  
  
"Yeah, but then you had to go and point it out," she smiled and teased back.  
  
"What can I say? I'm in a state of shock," he chuckled. Kim moved into his arms and wrapped hers around his waist. "Oh my god! A full-on display of affection," he laughed and hugged her back.   
  
"Ha-ha." Kim refused to let go, mainly so she wouldn't have to look at him, "Are you busy tonight?"  
  
"I hope so," he teased. He noticed the tension in her body and the fact that her grip on him was tightening. "Hey. What's goin' on?" he asked quietly, holding her closer.  
  
Kim looked up and smiled, "Nothing. I was just thinking we could have dinner or something." Jimmy waited patiently for the real answer. Kim sighed, "I was just hoping we could talk."  
  
"Uh-oh. I don't like the sound of that. If the conversation starts with, 'I think you're a great guy', forget it," he teased, trying to lighten her up. He smiled when she laughed.  
  
"I promise, it won't," she said and kissed him.  
  
"Oh my god! You've got to be kiddin' me!" D.K. stared at them. "Kim, haven't you learned your lesson with that loser? You could do so much better. Like me," he smiled.  
  
Kim laughed, "What can I say? I'm a slow learner."  
  
"When you're ready for a real man, come and find me," he laughed and dodged a towel that Jimmy threw at him.  
  
"Will you get lost!" he laughed. He turned his attention back to Kim, "Don't even think about it," he playfully warned.  
  
"He's not really my type. Carlos though, whoo mama, watch out!" she laughed and yelped when he smacked her on the butt.   
  
"You're gonna pay for that one," he laughed and leaned down to kiss her. "So, you ready to go?"  
  
"I'm gonna go home and change first. I'll be over in a little while," she smiled and started to walk away.  
  
"Don't forget your jammies," he yelled after her, hoping everyone else had heard.  
  
"Don't need em'," she threw back and laughed at the cat calls from the other guys.  
  
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Jimmy sat on the edge of Joey's bed and smiled. He seemed so much happier ever since he and Kim had gotten together. It made him sick to think about all the fighting they used to do. If he could erase that from his son's memory, he would. Actually, if he could, he would erase a lot of things. How could he have ever been so stupid to actually screw up what they had? It was the first time in his life he felt like he belonged. Kim and Joey had given that to him, and he and thrown it all away. Not this time though. He wouldn't screw up this time. He kissed Joey on the head and closed the door behind him.  
  
He went to the kitchen to check on the pasta he had started. His thoughts drifted back to Kim as they frequently did nowadays. Maybe they would actually sleep together in a bed tonight. The thought made him chuckle. Kim was so paranoid about Joey waking up and seeing them together; she was always up and active before he woke up, even if it was 6:00 in the morning.   
  
He understood her fears and also wanted to do right by his son; to give him enough time to adjust, but it was a weird guy thing. It felt good to have his family under one roof, knowing he was protecting them. It was one of the hardest things he'd had to deal with when they'd gotten divorced; never knowing if they were ok, not being able to be there for Kim after a hard day, not being able to sleep next to her and know that nothing would happen to her. He had called her a lot in the beginning, just to make sure they were ok. He'd always worried about her. It was something that never went away.  
  
Jimmy was pulled out of his musings by a knock on the door. He smiled and opened his door, "Forget your key?" The smile quickly faded from his face.  
  
"Hey, Jimmy."  
  
"Melanie." 


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Meant to Be- chapter 12  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Third Watch. This gets really old.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to fishpinky, jimbosJS, landi, and Angel Eyes, for the constant encouragement. You love me! You really love me!  
  
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Jimmy's mind was reeling in shock. He hadn't seen Melanie since the night he'd made the biggest mistake of his life. "What are you doing here?," he asked, trying to stay calm.  
  
Melanie smiled and brushed past him and entered the apartment, "It's nice to see you too," she chuckled.  
  
"Is something wrong?" he asked and closed the door. "Did somebody die or something?"  
  
"I get the distinct feeling that you're not happy to see me," Melanie laughed.  
  
"Did something happen to Kim?" Jimmy asked, starting to feel panicked.  
  
"No! God, relax, Jimmy!" she smiled and sat on the couch. "Do you have Joey tonight?  
  
Jimmy was still standing by the door, not wanting to be anywhere near her, "Yeah. What are you doing here, Melanie?"  
  
"Oh, I just thought I'd stop by and say hi," she smiled.  
  
"Bullshit," Jimmy bit out. "What do you want?"  
  
"I want you to stay away from my sister," she bit back, dropping the friendly act. "You've caused enough problems in her life and in Joey's."  
  
"Look, I don't know why you're really here, because I know you don't give a damn about your sister, but me being with Kim is none of your business," he ground out.  
  
"Like hell it's my business! You screw with my family, it's my business. You have no idea how badly you screw things up! Kim won't even pick up the phone to talk to mom."  
  
"I'm sorry things between them are strained, but I love her and I'm not going to walk away because you or Katherine want me to." Jimmy was desperately trying to stay calm. He wanted to wring her neck. He vaguely heard his cell phone ringing, but was too distracted to hear it. "You don't give a damn about your sister and never have. Get out," he seethed.  
  
"And you think you do?! That's rich! I wasn't the only one that wanted it that night, Jimmy," she lashed out. " You didn't give a damn about her then."  
  
Jimmy's stomach dropped at the thought that he had actually broke his wife's heart to sleep with her narcissistic, manipulative sister. Jimmy went to stand in front of her and looked down, "I regret being with you everyday of my life because you weren't worth what I lost. I hurt her and my son and I have to live with that every single day, but I love her more than anything in this life and nothing you can say will ever change that. Leave. Now. Kim will be here pretty soon." He was getting a little nervous about her still being here.  
  
Melanie stood, pressing her body in to his, "How long are you gonna stay this time, Jimmy? We both know she deserves better than you. You're weak, always have been. You'll end up breaking her heart again and you know it," her finger brushed his bottom lip, "You always do."  
  
"Get out, you bitch," Jimmy fumed, gripping her arms in a painful squeeze.  
  
"Hey, I tried calling you to see if you wanted-" Kim stopped mid-sentence. Her stomach dropped at the sight of Jimmy holing Melanie in his arms, his face inches from hers. "Anything," she whispered out, finishing the forgotten sentence.  
  
Jimmy pushed Melanie away from him quickly, "Kim, it's not what it looks like."  
  
"Are you sure?" Melanie asked.  
  
"I told you to get out! You know nothing was going on. Tell her Melanie." Melanie shook her head and stood, walking to the door. "Tell her!" Jimmy barked out.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kim," Melanie said and left.  
  
Kim's vision was blurred by the tears she was trying not to shed, "I can't believe this," she whispered.  
  
Jimmy rushed to her and cupped her face, "Kim, I swear to god, nothing happened! She came here to try and get me to stay away from you, but nothing happened." The tears in Kim's eyes fell, making Jimmy feel like he'd just been punched in the stomach. "Baby, please, you have to believe me. I love you. Nothing happened."  
  
Kim pulled away and wrapped her arms around herself, "I've already heard all of this before."  
  
"Kim, nothing happened!" Jimmy's own eyes tearing.  
  
"Daddy? I heard yelling," Joey's tired voice came from the hall. "Mommy!" he squealed and ran to her.  
  
Kim knelt down and took him in her arms, "Hi, baby! Oh, I missed you so much today." Kim closed her eyes tightly, trying to stay calm for her son. Jimmy just stared at the two, knowing he couldn't say anything in front of Joey.  
  
"Are you gonna stay tonight?" Joey asked hopefully.  
  
"No, honey. I just wanted to come and see you," she smiled and pulled back, quickly wiping her eyes. "Let's get you tucked back into bed." Kim avoided looking at Jimmy and stayed with Joey until he fell back asleep.  
  
She entered the living room to find Jimmy sitting on the back of the couch, waiting for her. "Kim, talk to me. Please," he pleaded.  
  
Kim wrapped her arms around herself again and stayed far away from him, "I don't have anything to say."  
  
Jimmy moved towards her, but she backed away. He raised his hands in supplication, "Nothing happened. She came here to tell me to stay away from you. I told her I wouldn't and she tried to come on to me. Kimmy, I would never do that to you again. I love you, you have to know that." Jimmy was disheartened by her tears and silence. He tried to take her in his arms, "Honey, talk to me."  
  
"No," she whimpered and pushed him away. "Don't touch me."  
  
"Kim," Jimmy cried, sinking to his knees, "Please don't leave. Please, please," he wrapped his arms around her middle and cried into her stomach.  
  
Kim wanted nothing more than to believe what he was saying, but the past was staring her right in the face. It was what she had been afraid of. "I can't do this, Jimmy," she sniffled. "Not again." She gently pushed him away and moved to the door.   
  
Jimmy caught up with her quickly and wrapped his arms around her from behind, making it impossible for her to move. "No. Don't leave like this. You know me. I wouldn't do this to you again. You know I love you more than anything. Baby, please... I need you. You have to believe me."  
  
"I don't know what to believe," she cried and pulled away, walking out the door.   
  
Jimmy slumped against the door and sunk to the floor burying his head in his hands, "Kim," he whispered and cried. 


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Meant to Be- chapter 13  
  
Disclaimer: Since the last time I've written, I have not come into possession of Third Watch.  
  
Author's Note: I know it's been forever since my last update, but things have been crazy. But you don't want to hear about that, you just want the story. Greedy people.;) Special thanks to FDNY Angel Eyes for the kick in the ass, I mean "reminder", to get movin.  
  
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Kim wandered around that night for what seemed like an eternity. She thought about going back and letting Jimmy plead his case, but didn't have the strength for that. She thought about going to her mom's, but she knew the only thing she would get there was an "I told you so". Kim finally decided on the one destination that was least likely. She stood in front of the door, realizing that this was probably a bad idea, but went ahead and rung the doorbell.  
  
"Kim," Melanie whispered in shock.  
  
"Why would you do this to me again?" Kim choked out.  
  
Melanie looked around, obviously uncomfortable, "Kimmy, why don't you come in? It's freezing out there." At some point in time it had started raining and Kim hadn't even noticed that she was soaking wet. Melanie felt a sick feeling at the look that Kim was giving her. It had taken so long for them to begin to rebuild their relationship, and she had gone and screwed it up again in a lame attempt to protect her sister.  
  
"What did I ever do to you that was so bad to make you keep doing things like this to hurt me?" Kim begged for some understanding of the situation.  
  
"Kim, it's not what you think," Melanie started to explain.  
  
"I remember seeing a similar scene a couple years ago and it ruined my life so don't tell me I didn't see what I saw! You'd think I'd be used to it by now." Kim shook her head in disgust and began to walk away.  
  
"Kim, wait!," Melanie jogged in the rain to catch up with her. "Look, I know what I did was wrong, but please believe me when I say I was trying to help."  
  
Kim's incredulous look spoke volumes, "Are you actually so morally inept that you can't even see when you do something wrong? You know what, I was stupid to let you back into my life again. I really hope that you grow up someday," she said and turned around to leave.  
  
"Please," Melanie stopped her from walking away, "let me explain."  
  
"I've heard it before," Kim pulled back and started to walk away again.  
  
"Jimmy was telling you the truth," Melanie called after her in a last ditch attempt to make her listen. Kim stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Melanie. "Mom has been calling me all the time and she's so upset that you won't talk to her or bring Joey over. I hate seeing the two of you fighting and I didn't really think that the whole Jimmy thing was really that serious-"  
  
"Even if it wasn't serious, what right do you have in any area of my life?! And more importantly, when did you start caring?" Kim cut her off.  
  
" I do care and that's why I did what I did. Kim, you know he's just gonna hurt you again. He's not the kind of guy that will be there. He always ends up breaking your heart and I didn't want that to happen again," Melanie finished weakly.  
  
"So you thought seducing my boyfriend was the way to go about things?" Kim asked, feeling the urge to slap her sister across the face.  
  
" I know, I should have talked to you."  
  
Kim rubbed her hands over her eyes tiredly and started to laugh, a slight tone of hysteria present. She looked at her sister, unable to believe she could do something so stupid, "You know, both you and mom are so concerned about me not getting hurt by Jimmy and you can't even see how much you're hurting me. Do you honestly think that I don't know that there's a risk of me being hurt by him again? How about instead of being so focused on forcing me out of this relationship, you be there for me and support me for once in your lives?"  
  
Melanie was trying hard not to cry. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to hate her again, "Kim, I'm so sorry."  
  
"Stay away from me, stay away from my son, and stay away from Jimmy. I don't ever want to speak to you again and I do mean it this time. That should make things easier for you and mom," Kim bit out and turned to go home.  
  
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Jimmy was sitting on her bunk when Kim made her way to the landing to get ready to change. His head was in his hands and his shoulders were slumped. It pained her to see him like this, especially knowing that he really hadn't done anything wrong. At least according to Melanie, whose judgment was a little shady. Kim leaned against the railing and tried to brace herself, "Hey." Jimmy wearily lifted his head and looked at her in a look that could only be described as desperation. It made Kim want to jump in his lap and tell him everything was gonna be ok. But she didn't.  
  
"I tried to call you," Jimmy rasped out inanely. He mind couldn't focus and that was the first thing that popped out.  
  
"I know," Kim whispered.  
  
Jimmy sat up a little and looked as if he wanted to get up and go to her, but was afraid to. His tired eyes glistened with tears and his bottom lip quivered a little, "Kim, I'm so sorry."  
  
Kim's eyes filled quickly too, "You don't really have anything to be sorry for."  
  
Jimmy looked understandably confused, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I went to Melanie's last night and she told me what really happened. She said that you didn't try anything with her; that it was her warped plan to help me," Kim tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a sob.  
  
Jimmy's eyes started to light up a little, " I swear, nothing happened last night with us," he stood and moved slowly to her, afraid she would bolt if he moved too fast. He tentatively brushed some hair away from her face, his hand sliding down to cup her face. His thumb gently rubbed her bottom lip and more than anything in the world, he wanted to kiss her, but refrained. His hands slipped down to her waist and he gently pulled her towards him, "I don't want her, I just want you," he leaned down slightly.  
  
"Jimmy, we have to talk," Kim pulled away and sat down on the bunk.  
  
He sat down cautiously next to her, "Ok."  
  
Kim turned to look at him for a long moment, "You look terrible," she smiled slightly.  
  
"Well, you know, I didn't sleep so well last night," Jimmy smiled and smoothed her hair down her back. "I missed you." Tears leaked from her eyes and she had to turn away from him. "What, baby?" he whispered and rubbed her back soothingly.  
  
"I can't do this, Jimmy," she croaked out.  
  
"Can't do what?" he asked, a feeling of dread welling in the pit of his stomach.  
  
"Us. It's just too hard, you know?" she looked at him through bleary eyes. "I love you so much, but it shouldn't be this hard, Jimmy. It just shouldn't."  
  
Jimmy kneeled down on the floor in front of Kim's hunched over form, "Kimmy, don't do this to me. I know it's hard, but we can do this. I know I still have to earn your trust, but-"  
  
"But that's the thing, Jimmy! You shouldn't have to earn anything. You've been working so hard to make this work, but you shouldn't have to. And I've tried so hard to not let our past get in the way of our future, but our past was staring me in the face last night and I couldn't trust you. Jimmy, I thought these feelings would go away, but they haven't. I can't make them. I can't forget what you did and I don't wanna live my life in fear of you doing it again. I can't live like that, Jimmy."  
  
Tears were falling down Jimmy's face, "Tell me what to do to make you trust me and I'll do it. Do you want me never to go anywhere without you? Then I won't. Do you never want me to talk to another woman again? Then I won't. Please, Kimmy, tell me what I can do," he begged.  
  
Kim cupped his face, "You shouldn't have to do anything. You deserve to be with someone that isn't always expecting you to do something to screw up. I don't want to be the person that makes you miserable because you're trying to make me happy."  
  
"You don't make me miserable, baby. The only time I am happy is when you're with me. When I can hold you in my arms and know that you belong to me and I belong to you and I do, Kim, I belong to you. I always have and always will. I love you," he rasped out.  
  
"Then let me go," she begged tearily.  
  
Jimmy looked at her in horror. This was not happening. Just a few minutes ago he had been so happy that she believed he hadn't done anything and now she was breaking his heart. "No," he shook his head in determination, "No. Not again."  
  
" If you love me, you will because I can't do this anymore," Kim cried.  
  
"I already lost you twice. I can't lose you again," Jimmy held her hands to his face, "I need you, baby."  
  
Kim ran a hand through his hair and kissed his forehead. Jimmy moved back and caught her lips with his. Kim moaned in agony, but kissed him back weakly. When he tried to pull her into his lap, she pulled away, "No, Jimmy, I can't do this," she whimpered.  
  
Jimmy just looked at her in pure anguish, "What are we supposed to tell Joey?"  
  
Fresh tears came to her eyes at the thought of breaking her baby's heart, "I don't... I don't know."  
  
"Kim, please, if you love me, don't do this. I know you haven't forgiven me fully yet and I know you feel bad about that, but it's ok. I'll do whatever it takes to make you trust me again, but don't do this again. Don't walk away from me. Don't walk away from the man that loves you," Jimmy begged, the tears still rolling down his face.  
  
"Hey, Kim! Are you up he-" Alex stopped in mid sentence when she saw the scene before her. Kim was sitting on the bed, Jimmy knelt in front of her with his arms wrapped around her and they were both crying. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Kim, we got a call," she looked at her best friend in concern.  
  
Kim wiped vigorously at the tears that were still falling and plastered a smile on her face, "Ok."  
  
She moved to stand and Jimmy stepped in front of her, "Kimmy, please."  
  
Kim's forehead scrunched in an attempt to keep her tears at bay and she pushed him away gently, "I have to go," she croaked out. She made her way to Alex, "Ready to head out?," she asked and tried to smile, but Alex could still see the tears swimming in her eyes.  
  
"You know, I could ask Carlos and Doc to take this call if you-"  
  
"No, I'm fine," she smiled.  
  
"Yeah," Alex nodded her head, completely unconvinced. She glanced at Jimmy and noticed he looked like he was gonna be sick. She sighed, "If you're up for it, let's go," she descended down the stairs.  
  
"Don't do this," Jimmy begged one last time.  
  
Kim looked at him in misery, "I'm sorry. I'm just not strong enough this time," she whispered. Jimmy took a step towards her and she walked away before he could reach her 


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Meant to Be- chapter 14  
Disclaimer: I realize it has been a while, but I still do not own Third Watch.  
Author's Note: Anybody remember me? (Dodges flying bottles) I know it's been a really long time since I've updated, but I believe my muse might be back. Shh.. speak quietly so we don't scare him away. Anywhoo, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for all the people who've been so supportive. It is greatly appreciated.  
  
It had been four weeks since Kim had broken up with Jimmy. The first couple of days didn't even feel real. Jimmy would wake up and expect Kim to be there, only to wake up and experience her rejection all over again. He would have the urge to call her a thousand times in a day just to hear her voice and continually have to remind himself that he couldn't.  
  
Seeing her at work was even worse. Most of the time, if he really tried, he could force her out of his mind by busying himself with random things, but at work, there was no escaping her. It seemed that everywhere he turned, she was there. It was almost as if the harder he tried to stay away from her, the more often he ran in to her. Usually, quite literally. In the chaos of the firehouse, they would bump in to each other or end up having to talk to each other about something work related.  
  
The first week was of course the worst. Between the two of them there were a lot of emotions flying around. Confusion, hurt, pain, fear, regret, longing... they were all there, but neither one of them let on about what they were feeling.  
  
The second week was slightly less excruciating. Kim was finally starting to look at Jimmy when she spoke, and he was not fighting the urge to avoid her completely as much. By the time the forth week rolled around, they had actually started talking to each other on their own accord instead of when work required it. They were even starting to joke around with each other again.  
  
To be honest, Jimmy was afraid to feel comfortable around Kim again, heaven forbid he accidentally reveal to Kim that he was still madly in love with her. She might run away screaming or something. He really was trying to keep his distance, but they were starting to loosen up around each other. It was almost like before...except not.  
"Deep thoughts?" Alex smirked, walking up to Jimmy.  
  
"Always," he smiled tiredly.  
  
"You look like shit," Alex stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Jimmy chuckled, "Don't hold back Alex, tell me how you really feel."  
  
"Look, I know these last couple of weeks haven't been easy for you and I just wanted you to know that if you ever need to talk or anything, I'm here for you. I'm your friend too, you know," she gave him a small smile.  
  
Jimmy looked at her skeptically, " Why the sudden concern for my well-being? I thought you hated me as much as Kim does."  
  
Alex looked flustered for a moment, "Why would you think that?"  
  
"You've been avoiding me almost as well as Kim. I figured you thought I actually did sleep with Melanie," Jimmy smiled humorlessly. Alex looked uncomfortable at the mention of Kim's sister's name.  
  
Jimmy chuckled, "You didn't actually think I thought you didn't know what happened with us? I know you two have become close."  
  
"You know, it really blows being the friend of a couple. You always end up having to choose a side," Alex looked at him and sighed, "I don't think that you would do something that stupid again. I mean, I have doubts about your intelligence sometimes, but that's dumb, even for you."  
  
Jimmy laughed, "Well thank you."  
  
Alex smiled, but became serious, "She doesn't hate you, you know." Jimmy looked away from her, his smile faltering just a little, "This is hard for her too."  
Jimmy rubbed the back of his head and straightened up. He was starting to get that sick feeling in his stomach, happened every time he thought about what had happened between them. "Thanks for the concern, but I'm ok. I should get back to work though."  
  
"Ok," Alex smiled sadly. She shook her head and watched him walk away. She hoped he would remember her offer to talk.  
  
"Just have dinner with me again. I swear, that's all I'll expect."  
  
Kim sighed on the other end of the phone. This was the third time he had asked her out. "How many times do I have to say no before you'll give up?"  
  
"You should know by now that I'm not a quitter. Look, I'm not asking you to marry me, it's just dinner. People have dinner everyday. It's quite normal you know."  
  
Kim had to smile at his persistence, "Just dinner?"  
  
"Just dinner."  
  
Kim sighed and covered her face, "I'm probably really going to regret this, but...ok."  
  
"Alright. That's great. I'll see you later then."  
  
"Bye Derek."  
  
"Derek?" Alex raised an eyebrow at her friend. "As in 'annoyingly persistent Derek', as in 'I'm- too- good- looking- for- you- to- pass- up- this- unbelievable-opportunity-Derek'"  
  
Kim smiled and rolled her eyes, "Yes."  
  
"I thought you told him you didn't want to see him again," Alex frowned at her.  
Kim sighed for the millionth time that morning, "I did. Apparently he doesn't take no for an answer."  
  
"Yes and that is exactly the kind of guy that you want to be alone with," she stated sarcastically.  
  
"It's just dinner Alex. I have to eat. Besides, he's paying," she smiled.  
  
Alex didn't smile back, "Are you gonna tell Jimmy this time?"  
  
Kim glared at her, "I don't need to ask permission to go out on a date, Alex. We're not together anymore."  
  
"So you're just gonna let him find out on his own then. That's nice," Alex murmured.  
  
"Why are you being like this with me? Are you trying to make me feel guilty? Because it's working."  
  
"Kim, I'm sorry."  
  
"Why shouldn't I go out with him? He has a steady job and he's nice and he likes me. These are all very good qualities. It's not like Jimmy would ask me if it was alright if he went out. Why should I have to tell him anything?" Kim was starting to get worked up.  
  
Alex raised her hands in surrender, "You're right. You don't owe anyone an explanation for anything."  
  
"Damn right I don't! I'm a grown woman with a kid and I shouldn't have to justify my actions to anyone but myself. I want to get on with my life!"  
  
" Kim-"  
  
"I just want to get on with my life Alex," she whispered out.  
  
Alex sat down on the bunk with Kim and put her arm around her shoulders, "You're right. You should get on with your life. You're doing the healthy thing."  
  
"Then why do I feel like shit?" Kim glanced at Alex, tears shining in her eyes.  
"Because getting on with your life really sucks sometimes," Alex smiled sympathetically.  
  
"I can't wait around for him forever, you know? I feel like I've been standing in one spot for the last ten years and watching my life pass me by. I wanna stop watching. I wanna be a part of it, you know."  
  
"I'm sorry for making you feel guilty. Derek sounds like a nice guy," Alex wrinkled her nose in mock disgust.  
  
Kim laughed and brushed away a tear that fell, "I was already feeling guilty. You just pushed me over the edge," she teased.  
  
"Hey, this is what I do. I'm the best friend. I meddle," she smiled.  
  
"Maybe I should call and cancel," Kim's brow wrinkled in self-doubt.  
  
"I think you should do whatever you think is best for you. And if what's best is going out with creepy- I mean charming Derek, then go," she smiled.  
  
Kim laughed, "He's not creepy!"  
  
Alex stood up and moved for the stairs, "No, of course not." Kim shook her head and followed her down the stairs, wondering how disastrous of a day this was going to be.  
  
Kim walked cautiously around the firehouse looking for Jimmy. There was a lull and everyone was just sitting around, exhausted from that morning's calls, and waiting for the next round to start. Kim was going to take advantage of the break in the chaos and let Jimmy know about the date that she had that night. With any luck the sirens would go off just as they were about to start fighting, and that would be the end of that conversation.  
  
She found him sitting at the table trying to fix something on his helmet. Thankfully, he was alone and she wouldn't have to pull him away; making a spectacle of themselves. "Hey there."  
  
Jimmy looked up and smiled. He couldn't help it. It was the natural reaction that he had to her entering a room. "Hey yourself."  
  
"Kim nervously played with her hands, "Do you mind if I sit down for a minute?"  
  
"You can sit down for more than a minute if you want," Jimmy teased her.  
  
Kim smiled, glad he seemed to be in a good mood. She was sure that that wasn't going to last long. "So, I was wondering if you would take Joey for the night. I kind of have some plans."  
  
Jimmy shrugged, "Sure. I'd be glad to take him an extra day."  
  
"Great," Kim smiled. They looked at each other for a while, the silence becoming very uncomfortable. Kim had hoped he would prod her about where she had to go, but it seemed that she was going to have to bring that up herself.  
  
"So... have you been doing ok? We haven't really talked in the last couple days," she forced her smile to stay in place.  
  
"I'm good. You?" he continued to fiddle with his helmet.  
  
He really wasn't making this easy. He was the conversationalist of the two of them and this newfound monosyllabic thing was not working for her. "I'm good. Kind of busy, but good."  
  
"Good," he looked up briefly to smile at her.  
  
Kim forced herself to not sigh in exasperation. He was just gonna make her come out and say it. She had wanted to ease in to the subject, but apparently he was not up for small talk today. Jimmy looked up again to find her looking at him with a strange look on her face. He was trying desperately to stay casual, but she seemed to be in the mood to talk. "So I'll pick Joey up from school and take him back to my place then," he said, hoping to bring this awkward moment to an end.  
  
"Yeah, that's great. I would pick him up myself, but I need to get ready before I go out tonight," she said, praying that he would take the bait.  
  
"Not a problem," Jimmy smiled and went back to the helmet. Kim wanted to grab that helmet from him and beat him with it. She struggled to maintain a composed look on her face, her hands fidgeting more nervously than before.  
  
Jimmy glanced up at her and raised his eyebrows in question, "Was that all you needed to ask me?"  
  
"Um, yeah. I guess," she smiled, signs of frustrations showing on her face.  
  
Jimmy sat back in his chair and looked at her in confusion, "Kim, I get the feeling that there's something you wanna add here."  
  
"No! I just... I'm just checking with you. You know, to make sure that it's okay," she fumbled.  
  
"It's no problem. Really. I didn't have any plans tonight or anything," he shrugged.  
  
Kim sighed, "Jimmy I have to tell you something."  
  
"Yeah, I figured. You wouldn't still be sitting here with that look on your face if you didn't."  
  
"What look?" she asked, her brow furrowed.  
  
"The look you get when you're looking for a way to say something, but can't find one and hoping that I'll say something to make it easier for you," he smirked at the scandalized look on her face.  
  
"I don't have a look," she protested, irritated that he knew her so well. Irritated that he knew she was having a hard time and wasn't doing anything to make it easier for her.  
  
" So then you didn't need to tell me anything?" he raised an eyebrow, know he was being difficult.  
  
"Well yeah, but...," Kim was completely thrown off balance.  
  
Jimmy leaned his elbows on the table and leaned forward a little, giving her his complete attention, "So go ahead."  
  
Kim narrowed her eyes slightly, seeing that he was enjoying her discomfort. Suddenly, she didn't feel so bad about what she was going to tell him, "I'm going on a date tonight."  
  
Of all the things that he was expecting her to say, that was not one of them. It felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. The mischievous look in his eye quickly died and his whole body tightened with tension. "What?" he asked, hoping he had heard her wrong.  
  
Kim instantly felt bad again. The look on his face was heartbreaking, "I'm going on a date."  
  
Jimmy looked at her blankly, "With who?"  
  
"You don't know him. He's just someone I met a couple weeks ago," Kim shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.  
  
"Have you been out with him before?" Jimmy asked, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer.  
  
"Just one time."  
  
Jimmy looked away from her, trying to gather his thoughts, "Wow. You really don't waste time." Kim forced herself not to respond to his dig. She knew he was having a hard time dealing with what she had told him, and let it go. Jimmy returned his gaze to her, "Why are you telling me this?"  
  
"I didn't want you to hear it from anyone else," she stated simply. Those sirens could go off now anytime, and she would be happy. She needed to get away from the hurt look in his eyes.  
  
"That's really nice of you," Jimmy mumbled and stood up.  
  
"Jimmy, I didn't tell you to hurt you."  
  
"No? Then what, are you asking for my blessing or something?" he snapped at her.  
  
"I'm not asking for anything. I just thought you deserved to hear it from me, but I guess it wouldn't have mattered either way," she snapped back, turning to leave.  
  
"Kim stop," Jimmy gently grabbed her arm and turned her toward him, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap, but how did you expect me to act? Do you want me to be happy for you, because honestly Kim, I haven't quite reached that stage yet."  
  
Kim sighed and looked down, "I'm sorry. I tried to think of any easier way to tell you, but there really isn't one. Hallmark doesn't really make cards for this."  
  
Jimmy smirked, "At least not one that I'd want to read."  
  
Kim looked up at him and gave him a small smile, "I really didn't want to hurt you."  
  
Jimmy pulled her to him slightly, his hand still on her arm, "Then don't go out with this schmuck."  
  
As luck would have it, the sirens did go off, calling them back to work; saving Jimmy from begging and Kim from trying to explain herself. Jimmy sighed and looked into her eyes, knowing she was still going to go out on this date. Suddenly feeling very tired, his arm slipped from her and he backed away, "Have a good time, Kimmy." That said, he turned and ran to catch up with the guys.  
  
Kim just watched him move away from her. All things considered, that had gone pretty smoothly. He hadn't yelled and screamed like she thought he would. He had actually handled things quite well. So why did she feel so disappointed?


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Meant to Be- chapter 16  
Disclaimer: If Third Watch belonged to me, story lines like this would happen every week. Alas, it does not  
Author's Note: No, your eyes do not fail you! This is indeed another chapter. My muse is being nice to me and is apparently very horny. You have been warned!

The entire day had seemed like a bad dream to Kim. Inevitably, she and Jimmy had constantly been around each other all day, and every time she gained enough courage to look up at him, he had that same look of rejection and defeat in his eyes. She could tell he was doing his best to keep his distance from her, and it pained her to know they were right back where they had started. Almost as if the last few months of getting to know each other again had never happened.  
  
By the end of their shift, Kim was physically and emotionally exhausted. The thought of calling and canceling on Derek was very tempting. She did have to eat though, so she might as well go and at last get a free dinner out of the deal.  
  
"Um, Kim, I think we're going to have a problem," Alex grabbed Kim by the arm and dragged her behind her bus.  
  
"Alex, what's going on? What's the matter," feeling panic at the worried look on her face.  
  
"Please don't tell me you were actually stupid enough to tell Derek to come and pick you up here?" Alex asked.  
  
"What? Of course not," Kim's eyes doubled in size as the realization of what Alex was trying to tell her sunk in, "Oh god! Please tell me he's not here?" she asked in a panic.  
  
Alex laughed and ran her hands over face in disbelief, "Oh this is gonna be so much fun," she groused sarcastically.  
  
Kim peeked around the bus and saw where his car was parked. Luckily he was on the phone, still inside the car. And that was the way it was gonna stay if she had anything to say about it. "What the hell does he think he's doing?! He knows that Jimmy works here!"  
  
"Maybe that's why he's here," Alex pointed out.  
  
"How very dog pissing on fire hydrant," Kim snapped out, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm. "Ok, ok. You have to help me out here. I'm gonna go over and tell him to get out of here. You distract Jimmy."  
  
Alex nodded her head, "Right."  
  
Kim covered her face with her hands, "Oh my god! How do I get myself into these situations?!"  
  
"Karma?" Alex teased, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
Kim glared at her, "Not really the time for your smart-ass remarks, thank you."  
  
Alex had to fight really hard not to laugh, "You're right. I'm gonna go find your ex- husband/ex-boyfriend and try and distract him from noticing that your new boyfriend is here looking to get into a pissing contest."  
  
Alex was met with another glare, "You don't need to remind me how fucked up this scenario is, Alex."  
  
"Sorry. Couldn't resist," Alex chuckled, but quickly regained her composure, "Ok, go tell Mr. Deathwish to get lost. I'll find Jimmy."  
  
Kim watched Alex walk away and closed her eyes and took another deep breath, trying to fend off the oncoming aneurysm she was sure she was about to have. She looked around, making sure Jimmy was nowhere in site, then ran over to Derek's car. The door was opening and she got there in time to close it again. Derek's pissed off face looked up to see what the hell had happened, when he saw Kim and smiled. The smile was not returned and she motioned for him to roll down his window. Completely paranoid, she looked over her shoulder, making sure no one was watching her.  
  
Derek rolled down the window, looking slightly annoyed that she wouldn't let him out of the car, "Do you greet everyone by trapping then in the car?"  
  
"Only gigantic assholes," she fumed the annoyance clear on her face.  
  
Derek looked confused, "Why am I an asshole?"  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Kim violently whispered, barely keeping it together.  
  
"Well, I thought I would save you a trip, be nice and pick you up from work," he answered, quickly becoming angry.  
  
"Nice?! Derek this is not nice! This is a disaster waiting to happen," she looked over her shoulder again. Oh god. She could actually see Alex talking to Jimmy, who by some miracle didn't seem to see her.  
  
"Kim, what the hell is your problem? I just wanted to be nice and surprise you at work," Derek frowned, trying to understand what was going on.  
  
"Yeah, work. The place where I work. The place where I work with my ex-husband, who most recently also happens to be my ex-boyfriend!" Kim looked at him incredulously.  
  
"Oh god! Kim, I totally forgot about that," he raised his hands in supplication, " I honestly didn't remember that you worked with the guy."  
  
"Yeah, well "the guy" is gonna come over here and beat the shit out of you and possibly me if you don't get out of here fast," she stepped away from his car. He just stared back at her. "Go!" Kim gestured wildly.  
  
"Kim, I'm not afraid of your ex," he stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Kim just stared back at him, "Do you think this is some kind of joke? Unless you want to die, I suggest you get the hell out of here."  
  
"Look, Kim, I really like you and I want to get to know you better. Chances are I'm gonna run into him someday anyway. Why not just get it over with?" he asked.  
  
Kim let out a bark of laughter that had absolutely nothing to do with humor, "You know what, if you don't get out of here right now, I might kick your ass. This whole display of testosterone is not gonna make a good impression on me."  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't be working with the guy if he scares you this much," Derek suggested smugly.  
  
"He does not scare me! You scare me! We've only been out one time and you think that gives you the right to go head to head with my ex-whatever the hell he is? You know what? Your chances of a second date are slim to none unless you get your ass out of here!" Kim turned and stalked away, not letting Derek retort. She slowed her stride when she noticed that Jimmy was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching her with an amused look on his face. Alex looked at her sheepishly and mouthed 'sorry' before getting the hell out of there.  
  
The look Jimmy was giving her was almost more unnerving than if he were mad. Or maybe he was and was just hiding it really well. Against her will, she gave him a once over and realized for the millionth time that he was unbelievably sexy. He hadn't cleaned up after their last call and was in a tight, dirty, white shirt and still had his fireman bottoms on, suspenders dangling around his legs. Kim shook herself out of her daze and smiled back, intending to just walk past him, pretending like everything was normal.  
  
"Hey there," he raised an eyebrow in amusement at her nervous demeanor.  
  
Kim forced a smile on her face, "Hi yourself. Shouldn't you be getting ready to go?"  
  
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders, "In a few minutes."  
  
His calm, almost flirty attitude was really making her nervous, "Ok. Well, I guess I'm gonna head out." Jimmy smiled and nodded, not saying anything. Kim felt like she was gonna scream. What was he thinking? Was he mad at her? Why was he being so weird? And then she heard it. Derek called her name, thereby making it impossible to look as if she didn't know him. Her eyes widened, but she didn't turn around.  
  
Jimmy looked past her and nodded in his direction, "Looks like somebody is trying to get your attention, Kimmy." He still had that unreadable look on his face, causing Kim's stomach to clench nervously.  
  
"Jimmy-" she started, but then to her horror, she realized that she was no longer standing alone in front of Jimmy. Kim looked at Derek in disbelief, and made a small noise that suspiciously sounded like a whimper of pain.  
  
"You dropped your scarf," he handed her her scarf and turned to smile at Jimmy. Jimmy smiled back, arms still crossed, still leaning against the wall, still looking completely calm. "How's it goin?" Jimmy asked.  
  
Kim wanted to take the scarf and hang herself with it right there. Better yet, she could use it to strangle Derek with. She forced another smile on her face and cleared her throat, "Uh... Derek, this is Jimmy. Jimmy, this is Derek." 'God kill me now'  
  
Derek thrust out his hand and Jimmy shook it, still leaning casually against the wall, "Nice to meet you Derek." It was strange. Jimmy couldn't explain what he was feeling. On the one hand he wanted to kill this guy who thought he had Kim. On the other hand, there was an inexplicable feeling of calm that washed over him. There was no way this guy had anything on him. He had seen the way Kim looked at him when she had been walking over to him. She still wanted him as much as he wanted her. This guy was just a diversion. And if that's what it took to make her see that they belonged together, so be it. This punk wasn't gonna be around for long. This epiphany brought a sense of calm over him and a smile to his face. He had been trying so hard to stay away from Kim, afraid that he might flirt with her or kiss her or something, when that's exactly what he should have been doing. He was going to prove to her that he was not as easily scared away by her rejection this time.  
  
"So you're a fireman, huh?" Derek asked inanely. By the wobbling of his voice, he had bitten off more than he could chew in meeting Kim's ex.  
  
Jimmy had to work hard to not make a smart-ass comment, "Ten years, almost."  
  
Kim was just watching as the men engaged in meaningless chitchat. Mainly she was watching Jimmy. He had never seemed so sexy as he did right in that moment. He could have easily blown up and beaten Derek to a bloody pulp, but he didn't. He could have easily taken a few verbal shots at Derek's lack of communication skills, but he didn't. He could have totally humiliated her in this situation, but he didn't. And she had never wanted him more. And by the way he was glancing at her from time to time, he knew it.  
  
Kim forced herself to come out of her increasingly hot musings and focus on the conversation, or lack thereof. "As much fun as this is I think we should go," she looked at Derek, "You can pick me up at my place in and hour and a half, ok?"  
  
Derek nodded, "Jimmy, it was nice to meet you."  
  
"Yeah. You too," he smiled, feeling almost Zen.  
  
Kim watched Derek drive away, then turned her guilty gaze to Jimmy, "Oh god, Jimmy, I never meant for that to happen. I never asked him to come here like this."  
  
Jimmy chuckled, "Yeah, I could kind of tell. You should have seen the look on your face when he walked over here."  
  
Kim glared at him, trying not to smile, "Well, I'm glad you enjoy my inner turmoil."  
  
"I do," he smiled.  
  
"So why are you being so cool about this?" Kim asked skeptically.  
  
"Why not?" he continued to smile.  
  
A flash of doubt ran through Kim's mind. What if seeing her with Derek gave him some sort of closure, and he was over her. Well, that would be a good thing I guess. She was the one who broke up with him. If she had started seeing other people, so should he. That thought caused her stomach to turn. "Well, keeping cool isn't usually your style," she pointed out.  
  
"People change," he stated simply. He noticed the strange look on her face. "Did you want me to freak out? Because I'll go after him and beat him up if that's what you want," he teased her.  
  
"No that's alright," Kim chuckled, her face turning red in embarrassment. "I guess I'll go up and get my stuff," she gestured at the stairs. Receiving another unnerving smile from Jimmy, she shook her head and went upstairs. Maybe she was loosing her touch. Maybe she wasn't as hard to get over as she liked to think. He seemed to have zoomed right past grief and denial and went right for acceptance. Not that she wanted him walking around miserable forever or anything, but he could have seemed a little less ok with meeting her new possible love interest. I mean, was a little jealousy too much to ask? Derek seemed to have his fair share, but she didn't care if he was jealous or not.  
  
Lost deep in thought and angrily throwing things in her duffel, she didn't hear Jimmy come up until his arms were wrapped around her middle. Kim gasped and tried to turn around, but his hold was too tight. His face nuzzled into her neck and for a moment she gave in and leaned back against him. His arms tightened around her and her hands went to caress his arms. She knew she should pull away, but she couldn't seem to do it.  
  
"Where is he taking you tonight?" he whispered in her ear, dropping a kiss to her shoulder.  
  
She nuzzled her cheek against his, "I have no idea. Probably McDonalds or something equally classy," she smiled as she felt his rumble of laughter against her back. The closeness was feeling way too good and she knew she should be telling him that this was a bad idea and that this was just going to confuse things, but to be honest, she just didn't care at the moment.  
  
"Sounds thrilling," he chuckled and placed a kiss on the side of her neck. His hands started to roam, his left arm still around her waist, the other, stroking the underside of her breast. Her mouth opened and she started to lightly pant. No one else had ever had this kind of effect on her and as hard as she tried, she would never find anyone that did.  
  
Jimmy started to walk backwards, pulling them towards the shadows of the room, never breaking the full body contact that he had with Kim. He continued to place wet, open-mouth kisses on her neck and shoulders, enjoying the tiny sighs and catches in her breath. His back hit the wall and he leaned against it, holding her even tighter. His knees were starting to feel weak as well, and needed something to support them before he let them crash to the floor. Not that he would complain...  
  
Kim pushed back against him, feeling his hard body behind her, her right arm reaching behind her to play with the hair on the back of his head, pulling him closer. She knew she should be pushing him away, not pulling him closer, but again, she didn't care.  
  
Jimmy's left arm continued to hold her impossibly close to his body, while his right hand skimmed beneath the hem of her uniform shirt and tank top. He caressed her stomach for a while, warming his hand to her body temperature. Slowly, his hand inched up to her breast, lightly brushing her nipple.  
  
Kim gasped and pushed back against him, her body wanting to melt into his. It was impossible not to feel the fact that what they were doing was having quite an affect on Jimmy. Kim smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, "This is really bad," she purred out, still playing with his hair with her right hand, while her left arm reached behind her to grip the back of his thigh, pulling him closer.  
  
"Do you want me to stop?" he whispered, brushing his thumb over her nipple again and again. He smiled when he heard her groan and pull his thigh even harder.  
  
"Yes," she panted out, her body not listening to it's own words. Again she felt his rumble of laughter and it brought a smile to her face. "I have to go." If they didn't stop now, they were gonna end up fucking right there in the station house. It was a miracle that no one had walked in on them already.  
  
"Oh right. Your date with Mr. Wonderful," he smirked and moved his hand back down her stomach to the top of her pants. "Not so sure he would be too happy about this."  
  
"Mmm," she moaned, unable to think clearly. His hand was hovering right where she wanted him, needed him most.  
  
Jimmy chuckled, "Maybe you should call and tell him you'll be late." His hand moved to press against her through her pants, his left arm holding her tight when he felt her sag against him.  
  
Kim was breathing like she was running a marathon. Maybe it was because they weren't supposed to be doing this, or because they could get caught, or maybe because they hadn't been together for the last 4 weeks, but she couldn't remember ever being so hot for him. Which was saying a lot, because she wanted him all the time anyway. Her hand tightened in his hair as he kept up the excruciating pressure against her crotch, her breathing completely out of control. "Jimmy," she moaned hoarsely, her lips and throat dry.  
  
"Shhh," he whispered, his left hand covering her mouth loosely. He was having some serious pain here. He was pressed as close as humanly possible to her, but the friction it was causing was giving him no release.  
  
"Jimmy, I have... I... I have to go," she panted out, not loosening her grip on him on bit.  
  
"Ok," he whispered in her ear, his hand still between her legs, clenching and unclenching.  
  
"You have to...stop...you have to stop," she panted, her left hand coming to rest on top of his hand. It was a half-hearted attempt to get him to stop that didn't work, and he laced their fingers together, still stroking her.  
  
"You really want me to stop, baby?" he murmured.  
  
"Mmmm...oh...oh," she panted as he hit a particularly good spot.  
  
Jimmy didn't know how much longer he could stand up. Even leaning against the wall, he felt like his legs were turning to jell-o, and she was completely dead weight against him, having lost the ability to stand long ago. He was clenching his jaw in attempt to keep quiet. He wanted so much to tell her how beautiful she was, how much he missed her, how much he loved her. He had to bite his tongue to keep those words from coming out.  
  
"Jimmy, please," Kim panted, now knowing whether she wanted him to stop or give her release. He chose to believe the latter and untangled their hands and unzipped her pants, reaching inside to touch her through her panties.  
  
"Oh... mmmm," Kim moaned and opened her legs slightly, "Please."  
  
Jimmy slipped his hands down her panties and groaned at how hot and wet she was. The shirt she had with the "find em' hot, leave em' wet" slogan, came to his mind and he chuckled, "Does that feel good sweetheart?"  
  
All Kim could do was nod frantically, and try to focus on breathing, the task becoming increasingly difficult. Her hand went back into his hair, her insides clenching him tight.  
  
"Hey , Jimmy, you still here?" D.K. yelled from downstairs.  
  
Jimmy looked over his shoulder, making sure he wasn't coming up stairs, "Yeah! Be down in a sec!" he yelled.  
  
Kim went rigid and she pulled away, panting hysterically, "Oh my god!" she bent over, trying to catch her breath  
  
Jimmy sighed and raked a hand through his hair, realizing the moment had officially been brutally murdered. Now was the part where she kicked his ass. Even waiting for his punishment, he couldn't wipe that smile off his face as he watched her trying to compose herself. It was the same smile he had been wearing all afternoon. She had proven without a shadow of a doubt that she still wanted him. Oh man, had she ever.  
  
Kim was still bent over, her hands resting on her knees, trying to get her breathing to return to normal and the ache in her stomach to go away. She had been so close and now she was left with a painful ache in her lower abdomen. She turned her head and looked at Jimmy who was leaning against the wall, one arm across his stomach as if he were having the same problem, giving her a lazy smile. "You are dangerous," she pointed at him and panted.  
  
"Come over here and I'll finish what I started," he smiled.  
  
Kim stood up and backed away a little more, "No way," she shook her head, unable to stop the returning smile she felt on her face. "I have to go. I'm gonna be late now, thanks to you."  
  
"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying," he continued to give her that sexy smile.  
  
Kim reached down and zipped her pants back up, walked into the bathroom, looked in the mirror and laughed, "You completely trashed me."  
  
Jimmy sauntered up behind her and leaned on the doorjamb, "Again, I would say I'm sorry, but..." he smiled.  
  
"Can you look a little less satisfied with yourself," she met his gaze in the mirror.  
  
"Believe me, I'm no where near being satisfied," he smirked.  
  
Kim glanced down at the very evident truth of his statement, and laughed despite herself, "Have fun with that tonight."  
  
"Why don't you come here and have some fun with me," he moved towards her.  
  
"Oh no you don't," she side stepped him and went to grab her duffel. "Derek's going to be at my place in about 45 minutes, and now thanks to you, I have to take a shower." Jimmy smiled un-apologetically, "Yeah, yeah. You'd say sorry, but you'd be lying." Kim moved to the stairs, but stopped before she started descending, "You're really not gonna try and stop me?" she asked surprised.  
  
"Would it help?" he asked, chuckling.  
  
"No," she smiled back.  
  
Jimmy nodded, "Have a good time."  
  
Kim leaned on the stair rail and rested her head in her hands, "You just spent 30 minutes working me into a sexual frenzy and now you're sending me off to another man. You bet I'm gonna have a good time!" she smiled and bounded down the stairs leaving Jimmy with one thought.  
  
"Shit." 


End file.
